Direction
by shadowed one
Summary: Already in college, the girls haven't given up the dream and are waiting for their big break. A fateful meeting with a stranger at a popular live house might just help them... and Sawako, get closer to their goal. SawakoxOC and various pairings.
1. Second Degree

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the series except for the original characters I have created and included in this story. Some places are fictional and may not be as accurate due to my limited knowledge on Japanese Geography. Same goes with certain technical matters, which I shall try my best to explain. As mentioned in the summary, the main pairing is Sawako x OC though other canon pairings may appear in latter portions of this story.**_

_**Reviews are highly appreciated.**_

* * *

_Chapter 1: "Second Degree"_

She was working hard as always. All her employees had gone ahead since it was the end of the work day yet she stayed behind to put in more time and effort. Unfortunately, she wasn't getting paid for working overtime. Why would she be paid when she's the owner of the company itself? Still, she was the brain of the young company and in order for it to become even more successful than it was now, work had to be done. She grabbed her mug of strongly brewed coffee and carefully sipped its contents. Her eyes never left the large screen of her computer as she continued to revise and improve the flagship product of her company.

"Yo!" Someone noisily opened the door to her work place and trudged in. "I heard from the security guard that you were still in, so I dropped by to bring you dinner." The tall man held out a bag and waited for the woman to shift her attention to him. When that didn't happen, he simply sighed and placed the bag on food on a non-cluttered area of the large work desk and plopped down into another chair. "You're too into your work you know! Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Complaining isn't listed under your job description," the woman replied, disinterest clear in her deep and serious voice. "Competition is fierce and since we haven't found a programmer up to our standards, I have to double the effort." As her other hand furiously typed away on her keyboard, she held out her free hand expectantly.

"I got you the usual," he pulled out half of the foot-long sub sandwich from the bag and placed it in the upturned hand. "Chicken Teriyaki sub with an additional order of jalapenos." He sat back again and watched in amusement as his business partner made quick work of her food and got back to work. "In any case, I think I'm close to solving your late night work hours," he informed her, running his long and graceful fingers through his raven hair.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Her attention was still on her work.

"I've got a couple of applicants who are quite skilled in the programming department. Visual Basic, JavaScript, C++ and all those other programming languages are listed in their resume." He grinned. "One guy is almost at the same level as you as a programmer, while the other has a lot of potential. Oh and they're pretty skilled with HTML5. They're probably even more knowledgeable about that language more than you since you were self-taught."

"How'd you lure them?"

The raven-haired man chuckled at how sharp his friend was. "I'm hurt that you think that way of me!" he remarked in a pained voice. "I didn't lure them to come to our company using false promises if that's what worries you." He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to watch the woman work away at her computer. "They're also particularly good with their research and recognized _who_ we were."

"Sounds like a weak reason to join our company."

"That may be true, but they're both willing to commit as soon as possible. They told me that they'd rather put their talent and skill in a new and growing company rather than work for those large and established ones."

"Hmmm…" She tapped in a few more codes then twirled her office chair around to face her partner. She was an attractive woman with shoulder-length layered auburn hair that was parted to the side. Outside and during the day, her characteristic auburn hair turned fiery and matched the intensity of her emerald green eyes. Her angular and sharp featured face often made people think that she was intimidating and unapproachable though to those who knew her, she was a kind woman and a good friend. Her body was lithe, wiry and tanned from years of being a surfer in the California coast. The tan though was fading since she was spending more time indoors than at the beach. Her physical appearance was certainly questioned whenever people found out that she was a computer programmer and owned her own software development company. She just didn't seem to fit the type of work she was in due to her good looks. "I suppose we could see them and give them a go," she decided after a long moment of thinking.

"Is _the _Terry Quinn actually taking my advice? It's a miracle!" The man dropped to his knees and raised his hands in the air.

"Stop that Miles," Terry ordered with a frown. She didn't particularly appreciate the jokester side of her friend especially when they were at work. It tended to be a distraction and often pricked her temper especially when they going through a heavy workload. "You make it sound like that I don't take your advice at all!" She got to her feet and stretched her five feet and nine inch frame.

"Oh I know. You do take my advice all the time since we're business partners, but you usually listen and only consider when you think my advice is sound." Miles Young was a flamboyant man with raven black hair that also fell to his shoulders but he usually kept it up in a low ponytail. He was pale-skinned and had humorous blue eyes that were quick to charm the people who happen to meet him. He also had a fit body, but not as fit compared to his female partner though he stood a couple of inches over six feet in height. "Anyway, Quinn-Young Development looks to be progressing well enough."

Terry nodded her head and rubbed her tired eyes. "I'd like the company to grow more. I'm estimating that within the next year or so, we'll have enough to move into a new building, one more suited to accommodate more employees and have the right tools and equipment to aid us in our work." Their current office was located twenty miles away from downtown LA. It was a modest sized office with the main area big enough to fit twenty employees with their own desks, computers and cubicles. There was also a small eating area that had a refrigerator, microwave, coffee brewer, water dispenser and sink. The last area of the Quinn-Young Development office was a separate room that was the private work area and office of Terry Quinn and Miles Young.

"I heard from our consultant friend that you plan to expand our product line by developing other software not necessarily related to music," Miles remarked, clasping her hands together. "The Crimson Score program is selling really well and getting remarkably good reviews. Users have been sending in their reviews saying that the price is affordable and that the simple interface tends to deceive and mask the great features and services included in the software." He grinned when Terry smiled at the praise. "Lots of music students, amateurs and some professionals are starting to use your program because it's easy to use."

"That's good to hear. Still, I'd like to build on that and improve our flagship product." It took most of her college life to develop the said software. Good thing she and Miles had built up enough capital to start their own company to further develop, market and sell it.

Miles chuckled. "You should really think about putting up the company's history in our website." His blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "I'm sure people would be tickled to know that you were frustrated using other music notation and audio scoring programs so you ended up creating one to your own liking."

Terry rolled her eyes heavenward. "Please, I hardly think that's necessary." She took her hair-tie tied to her wrist and pulled her hair up into a low ponytail. "Anyway, I'm going to stay here for a couple more hours. Shouldn't you be heading home?" she asked her friend.

"I think I'll do that." He stepped forward and briefly hugged his partner. "Don't stay too late, alright?" He released her, stopping at the cluttered desk when he saw a large dark blue envelope partly hidden under other documents. Seeing the foreign yet familiar writing on the front and Terry's name, he pulled it out and realized that it was from a university in Japan. "Hey Terry, did you see this yet?" He walked back to the redhead and handed over the large envelope. "Planning to go back to college or something?"

Terry shook her head. "Not exactly," she replied as she opened the envelope and pulled out a short stack of papers. "I told you I wanted to expand the product line and services of our company right? Recently, I was looking into colleges and universities who offered Music Engineering and Sound Production as a course. I applied online to several institutions and I guess this is one of the replies." She quickly scanned through the opening letter. "Looks like my application has been accepted," she informed her surprised friend. "They even sent me all the forms I need to fill out and a list of other things I have to send back to them if I'm really going to study there."

"I didn't know you wanted to go into music production," Miles accused. "Although I shouldn't be so surprised because of our background," he continued, rubbing his chin in thought. "It would definitely give us an advantage and an opportunity to penetrate deeper into the music industry though. We may get the chance to work with films and recording artists if all goes well."

Terry nodded and let out a sigh. "Well, the school year is not for another four months. That's enough time to fix things before I go."

"Why Japan anyway? Honestly, I've never heard of this Sora College of Music."

"I need a change of environment and I've been told that the college is an extension of the main campus of Sora International University, which is one of the best international schools in the country. Their English program is superb and most of the courses are offered in English as well." She looked through the rest of the documents then put them back in its envelope. "Their course on Music Engineering and Sound Production is highly recognized. They have great facilities and equipment to boot too."

"There's still going to be a language barrier you know," Miles pointed out.

"I did take that Japanese Language elective course back in college with Shannon remember? I'm rusty and I don't remember everything, but I have enough time to relearn the language."

"Shannon is living there as well," Miles added, realizing how much Terry must have thought about this plan of hers. "You sure about this though? You're going to be leaving the company in my hands for a couple of years or so."

"A little more than two years to be exact," Terry clarified. "Quite a few of my units were credited by the college so the time it would take for me to complete my second degree would be relatively shorter." She placed the envelope back on her desk and gulped down the rest of her coffee. "The grand wonder we know of as the internet will keep us in contact with each other. I'll be bringing my work with me, Miles."

"A working student, huh?"

"Best way to describe it!" Terry playfully punched her friend then grasped both his shoulders. "Anyway, you head on home! I just need to tweak the program a little bit more before I head home myself." She followed Miles out into the main office and brought her mug over to the sink. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

Miles scrunched his face at the thought of getting up early. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

_April – Nagoya, Japan_

* * *

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom though people didn't give much notice to it that morning. Many of the people out on the streets were on their way to work. In this case though, one young woman was sprinting down the street, trying her best to avoid her fellow pedestrians. "Why didn't they wake me up?" she cried out to no one in particular. "I have a paper to submit!" The young woman tried to put some order to her brown hair as she weaved through the crowd and arrived at her destination. Kazemiya University was a renowned women's college and had a large variety of courses it offered to its students.

She barely avoided crashing into other students who were on their way to their classes and managed to skid into her classroom just as the bell tolled. "Safe!" she exclaimed, wiping the sweat off her forehead and panting from exertion.

"So nice of you to get here on time," the professor teased and flapped his hand at his student while the rest of the class chuckled on in amusement. "Please take your seat, Hirasawa."

"Hai!" Yui took a deep breath then skipped over to her professor's desk and submitted her market analysis paper. She then skipped up a few levels of the auditorium style class and settled into a vacant seat midway up. "Did I miss anything?" she asked her seatmate, a bespectacled brunette who somewhat reminded her of her childhood friend.

"Not really," the young woman replied. "He was just making a couple of announcements before you made your grand entrance." She grinned and offered Yui her hairbrush. "Look at it this way at least you were able to put in some exercise today."

Yui laughed as she quickly ran the brush through her hair. "Did you stay up late finishing your paper?"

"Not late enough to almost be late for school," she teased.

"Awwww! Mizuki-chan!"

"What Yui-chan? It's the beginning of the school year and you're already running late! Besides, that paper Yamato-sensei made us do was just a page long!" The bespectacled girl eyed her college friend suspiciously. "What else did you do last night anyway?"

Yui grinned sheepishly. "Well, we had to practice."

"Ohhh… now that makes sense." Mizuki knew for over two years now that Yui and her high school friends had formed a band and were still in the process of reaching their goal. "How much longer until you get a gig at Budokan?"

Yui scrunched her face up at the mention of the goal she and her friends had set back when they were still the Light Music Club in Sakura High School. "We're still pretty far off from having a concert there," she sighed with much yearning in her voice. "We thought that by this time, we would at least be playing in the more popular live houses." She and the other members of Houkago Tea Time were going through a rough time. At first, they figured that the slow progress was mostly due to their busy schedules in college, but after two years in their university, they realized that their academics were only one of many reasons.

"Don't give up!" Mizuki pumped her fist up to encourage the usually happy musician. "I'm sure you'll get your big break soon!"

"Hirasawa! Endo! I know it's your first class, but could you at least try to pay attention?" Yamato called from the front. "I was planning to let all of you out early since I have a conference to catch."

"Sorry!" Both women chorused, sheepishly smiling at each other while the rest of the class chuckled. They all knew that their professor was relatively easygoing and rarely raised his voice in class. That was one of the major reasons why Yui had picked the class to begin with. Now a junior in Kazemiya University, Yui was hard at work trying to get her degree in Marketing. It was rather strange that she decided on that degree, but seeing that she did well when it came emceeing and promoting the band in the past, she thought that she might excel in the said course. Of course, she had to learn all the other subjects related like sales, market research and analysis, management, advertising and the plethora of math subjects involved since it was a business course. If she was still that clumsy and passive student back in high school, she probably would have flunked. Her band mates kept her in line though. They didn't just practice together after all. Regular study groups were a common activity in their shared schedule.

Fifteen minutes later, the class was dismissed early true to the word of their esteemed professor. Mizuki and Yui ambled out of the building and into the sprawling grounds of the university campus. To outsiders, it would have been a little bit strange for them to be within a campus filled with women of all ages. Kazemiya University was a private educational institution for women after all.

"Want to join me for a snack?" Yui asked her friend who was looking at her watch.

"Sorry Yui-chan, I have to make a quick trip to the library before heading to my next class," Mizuki apologized. "I'll catch you later though! Don't spend all your money on that snack of yours! You'll go hungry by the end of the day if that happens!" She waved then bounded off towards the library.

"Look like I'm on my own." Yui sighed and looked into her wallet. "Mizuki-chan is right though. I better watch how I spend my money. It would be embarrassing to call home and ask otosan and okasan to wire me money with the new school year just barely starting." She walked over to the main cafeteria and bought herself a sandwich and a glass of iced tea. Just as she was about to seat herself at a vacant table, she spotted two familiar figures sitting close by. "Mio-chan! Rit-chan!" she called, skipping over to her two friends.

Long black hair cascaded down the sides of her face and her back as Mio looked up in reaction. She bit back a smile as Yui plopped down in between her and Ritsu. "Yui…" she began. "It's still early and you're already having a snack?" She shook her head and watched as Ritsu tussled around with the newcomer.

"Forever hungry as usual!" Ritsu exclaimed with a wide grin, her dark amber eyes playful. She and Mio had been in the cafeteria for half an hour now and were just taking a quick coffee break. "That stomach of yours never seems to get full!" She pushed away the amber locks that fell across her forehead, which used to be the most prominent feature until she did away with the headband.

"It sucks that she doesn't seem to gain any weight despite all the food she eats," Mio added enviously, looking at the sheepish lead guitarist with her gray eyes. While Ritsu was known for her bubbly character, Mio was known for her good looks. Despite being in college, her fan club was still flourishing back in high school. Those who had joined their ranks in college were still loyal members as well, which Mio found very embarrassing on her part. Already, a new chapter of the fan club was formed in Kazemiya University, which greatly added to her anxiety.

"I want the day to end already!" Yui complained. "And I want Mugi-chan's tea and cake!"

"You've got a long wait ahead of you then," Mio pointed out, smiling in spite of herself. "Mugi has a busy schedule today and won't be home until after dinner." The long-haired woman looked at the nearest wall clock and proceeded to finish her cup of coffee. "Anyway, I've got to go. I have a social psychology class to catch." The psychology major got up and collected her belongings. Being in her junior year of college as well, the bassist still wasn't sure if she wanted to use her current course as a stepping stone to taking up medicine. "Coming along Ritsu? You said that you had an international business class."

Ritsu sighed and collected her things as well. "I do, but I'm not exactly in the mood to attend. There was a last minute change to the assigned professor and the one we ended up with is like a plank of wood." She grabbed a very thick Finance book and stuffed it into her bag. Like Yui, she was taking up a business course, more specifically Finance though she chose to take it up in English. The drummer was inspired to learn English, hoping that she would be able to use the said language once she and her band mates become famous enough to tour in America. While Mugi had been quite polite with her reaction to that dream, the rest of the band thought that Ritsu was being overly optimistic. Most of them knew that Ritsu picked Finance as a course so that she could learn to budget her money properly after that budget gaffe during their Light Music Club days.

"He's thin?"

Ritsu snorted and landed a punch on the back of Yui's head. "Idiot! He's stiff and boring!"

"Owwww… that hurt Rit-chan!" Yui tenderly rubbed the back of her head.

Mio took hold of her childhood friend's arm and started to drag her away. "We'll get going now, Yui!" She and Ritsu waved goodbye and smiled. "If you happen to see Azusa, tell her we'll be practicing again tonight!" The two friends then exited the cafeteria.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon when Yui did bump into the younger rhythm guitarist. Much to Azusa's embarrassment, she didn't see Yui in time and was immediately smothered in a crushing hug. "Yui-senpai! Please! Not too hard and we're in public too for crying out loud!" She could literally feel her face heating up as several pairs of eyes looked at the odd position they were in.

"But Azu-nyan! I've been looking all over for you!" Yui rubbed her cheek against Azusa's and refused to relinquish her hold on the petite young woman with long midnight blue hair. "Are you done with classes?" she asked the college sophomore.

Azusa slipped out of Yui's hold and took deep breaths to replenish her air-deprived lungs. "I just finished with my Leadership in Organizations class," she replied. The rhythm guitarist was in the process of acquiring her degree in Human Resource Management. Being the most disciplined and focused among her friends, she ended up enrolling in the course with the hope of improving dealing with her rather easily distracted band mates. "Are you finished with your classes too, senpai?"

"Yup!" Yui was very enthusiastic and eagerly linked their arms together. "Let's walk home together!" She didn't even bother to wait for Azusa to agree and started dragging her towards the nearest campus exit. It took around fifteen to twenty minutes of walking to and from the university to the large apartment the five young women shared. During this particular walk though, it took double the time because Yui was as usual distracted by almost everything she lays her eyes on.

Azusa was ready to just pick up her senpai and carry her up the stairs to their second floor flat after dealing with her during their walk home. Fortunately, Mio and Ritsu caught up to them and helped make things easier. The four women trudged up the stairs and entered their abode. When Ritsu, Mio, Mugi and Yui graduated and decided to attend Kazemiya University together, they also decided to find and live in an apartment together as well. It took a good week before they found one that was affordable and big enough to fit four and eventually five women plus have enough space for band practice. The apartment had five bedrooms, one of those rooms used to be an unused large storage room, which they cleared out and furnished when Azusa joined them. There was also a small kitchen that also acted as their dining room, two bathrooms and the living room, which was also their practice area. Prior to moving in, the four older women had to spruce up and do some renovating to the apartment, which had not been occupied for more than a few years. With permission from the landlady, they chipped in some of their savings and soundproofed the walls so that they wouldn't disturb the neighbors.

"Whose turn is it to cook today?" Mio asked after returning from their respective rooms.

"Mine!" Ritsu skipped over to their kitchen and began pulling out ingredients. "Mio, we have to go grocery shopping soon," she called. "We barely have enough right now to make curry. There's still some bread and jam for breakfast tomorrow, but other than that the fridge is empty."

The bassist sighed as she, Yui and Azusa settled themselves around the low dining table. "I suppose we can make a trip to the store sometime tomorrow afternoon. After classes of course." She drummed her fingers against the table's surface and softly smiled when Yui switched the television on and tuned in to Channel V. "Ah! It's a segment on 90's rock." She rested her chin on her hand and focused on the show.

"Do you know them, Mio?" Yui asked, not recognizing the people or the music in the music video.

Azusa stepped in. "Dishwalla," she informed her senpai. "They were a pretty popular alternative rock band in America back in the 90's." She tapped her finger against the table in beat with the music. "That song they're playing, 'Counting Blue Cars' was a chart hitter."

Yui grinned and suddenly glomped the pig-tailed young woman. "Azu-nyan is so smart!" she exclaimed.

"Senpai! Please! You're squeezing the breath out of me!" She made a face when Yui finally let her go. "I just happen to like the rock produced during that particular decade," she explained why she knew of the band. "These days, a lot of rock music sounds the same to me." She shrugged her shoulders and breathed in deeply as the delicious smell of curry wafted in the air. "Ritsu-senpai has improved her cooking since we started living together."

Ritsu laughed and gleefully pumped her fist in the air in self-acclamation. "Of course! I'm not yet as good as Mugi or Mio, but I'm sure I still beat Yui when it comes to cooking!"

"Awww! Rit-chan! I've been practicing!"

"Yeah and you always made a mess of the kitchen by the time you finished cooking the food!"

Mio ruefully shook her head and let the two friends bicker at each other as she went to set the table. It was nearly eight in the evening when Mugi finally arrived. The four friends had finished dinner earlier and had cleaned up. While the year mates conversed with each other, Azusa took Mugi's food and heated it in the microwave.

"What took you so long, Mugi?" Ritsu asked, watching as the blond-haired woman dropped her things on the sofa then settled herself at the dining table. "It's strange for you to come home this late without giving us the heads up first."

Sky-blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at her friends. "Sorry," she apologized with a small bow of her head. "Classes ended on time, but I was a little sidetracked on the way home."

"Mugi-chan! Let's have tea!" Yui clamored, suddenly choking when Ritsu came up behind her and slid her arm around her neck.

"Let her eat first!" Ritsu commanded.

Mugi smiled soothingly at Yui and held up a small paper bag. "I'll make some as soon as I finish eating. I just bought a new batch," she assured her dear friend then turned to thank Azusa who set a steaming plate of curry in front of her.

"So what kept you out until this time?" Mio asked as the rest of their group settled around the table with Mugi.

"Well, I had to restock our tea supplies and I wanted to check out this new specialty store that sells all sorts of tea blends from all over the world." She knew her parents could easily send her all the high quality tea she'd like, but she still found it thrilling to do normal activities such as shopping. "I was taking another route home, one that was less crowded when I chanced upon this place." She placed a small calling card on the table and stayed still as her friends all leaned forward to get a better look.

"The Cobalt Loft?" Mio said aloud. The calling card had a picture of the front of the cool and urban establishment. "A bar?" she wondered, rubbing her chin in thought.

"A live house," Mugi clarified with a wide smile. "It's relatively new from what I've found out. It opened a little over a year ago and it's the place to be if you want to listen to good music, drink and socialize with people. There's gossip that if you're able to land a gig there, the American music industry would be the next step. I suppose it's just a rumor that people came up with."

Ritsu took the card and had a closer look. "Who's Shannon Gray?"

"The owner," Mugi replied. "I met her actually."

"You met her?"

Mugi ignored the incredulous looks on her friends' faces. "Yes I met her."

"But this looks like an expensive place! Isn't it difficult to get inside let alone meet with the owner?" Mio asked.

"It was open when I just happened to pass by and I was curious to see the inside." Mugi shrugged her shoulders and got to her feet. "I'll go heat some water and prepare the tea," she said, leaving her friends pondering at the table.

"The owner just happened to be there?" Ritsu passed the card over to Azusa. "Just by the sound of her name, she must be a foreigner."

"She is," Mugi clarified. "She's from America and moved to Japan two years ago."

Azusa furrowed her eyebrows and put the card back down on the table. "There's more to this talk you had with this Shannon Gray, Mugi-senpai?"

The pianist grinned and this time laid out a form on the table. "Actually, the only reason why I ended up talking to Gray-san is because I overheard her talking to her events manager. Apparently, one of their acts this coming Saturday backed out and they're looking for a replacement act."

Yui giggled. "So you swooped in and asked if Houkago Tea Time could be the replacement. Typical of Mugi-chan! You never let an opportunity slip away!"

"How could I? It was too good to let go of!" The blonde raised her expressive eyebrows at her band mates. "Anyway, I let her listen to some of our songs from my iPod and she had no complaints about our music." She gestured at the form. "She said we should fill this out and come by for a live demo before she gives the go signal for us to perform on Saturday."

Mio frowned. "Saturday is five days from now."

"Which means we have to practice!" Azusa exclaimed, trading grins with Mio.

"When should we go to The Cobalt Loft for a live demo?" Yui asked, bowing her head in thanks when Mugi passed out steaming cups of tea.

"The sooner, the better," Mugi replied. "Gray-san said that they usually open at seven-thirty in the evening. The bar opens earlier at six though."

"So what time is everyone free tomorrow?" Ritsu asked. "I'll be out by four."

"Same here," Azusa voiced out.

"Three-forty," Mio said, already trying to figure out the best time for them to meet up after their classes. "How about you, Yui?"

"I have a free cut tomorrow so I'll be done with classes at one," Yui replied, sighing in contentment as she carefully sipped her tea. "I could hang around the campus and wait for you guys to finish."

"I'd say we meet at around four-thirty then," Mugi decided. "I'll also be done with class at around four in the afternoon though it might end earlier depending on my professor." She brought out her cellphone and quickly composed and sent a message. "I just asked if I could borrow one of otosan's delivery vans. Since all of us will be meeting in the university, we should just stow all our instruments and equipment in the van then drive to the live house together."

Ritsu clapped her hands in appreciation. "That's some quick thinking Mugi! Why a delivery van though? We should make a grand entrance!" She yelped in pain when Mio smacked her on the back of the head. "What? I was just asking!"

Mugi flapped her hand in disregard. "Well, it's one of the only vehicles available at such short notice. None of the other vehicles are big enough to fit us and our stuff so I settled for the delivery van." She gave the disappointed Ritsu an apologetic smile. "Maybe when we're famous we'll be able to afford a better vehicle for all of us."

"I wonder when that's going to happen," Ritsu muttered, warming her hands against her cup of tea.

Mio shook her head at the pessimistic attitude of her best friend. "We'll take it one gig at a time," she told the drummer. "Let's do our best with this one first."

Azusa jumped to her feet and dragged Yui to their living room. "Let's start practicing then! We have to be good for the demo first tomorrow!" She and Yui brought their guitars out and plugged them into the amps.

Ritsu immediately felt better and skipped to her drum set. "We're going to knock the owner's socks off! I'm sure of it!" She exchanged grins with the two guitarists and started to warm up on her drums.

Mio chuckled and motioned for Mugi to join in. "Let's leave those for later," she indicated the emptied cups and the teapot.

"I'm ready!" Yui announced, fixing her grip on her guitar pick. "Let's go for Fuwa Fuwa Time!"

"Okay!" Ritsu shouted, raising her drumsticks in the air. "One, two, three, four!"

* * *

It was late in the afternoon in the busy district populated with bars, clubs and the like. Inside The Cobalt Loft, a young woman in her mid-twenties was giving instructions to her employees prior to opening the live house. Her boy-cut blond hair, which was currently styled in a mini Mohawk, was so pale it was almost platinum in color. Blue-green eyes seriously looked over the newly stocked bar on the first floor and checked its cleanliness. "Maki! Did the cleaners come through here?" she called to a figure ducking behind the bar.

"They did boss! They actually just left a few minutes ago after finishing the loft," he said, jerking his head at the floor above them. There was a logical explanation why the establishment got its name. The live house had three floors. The first floor was the main bar and it was where customers could lounge around on the provided tables, chairs and couches. The second floor was the stage where the bands and other acts performed for the live house goers. If filled to capacity, the second floor could hold nearly two hundred people. Tucked away at the back of the room was the sound box, as the owner liked to call it. It was indeed a box-shaped room that had the main console wired to all the music equipment on the stage. There were several couches and small tables arranged on the perimeter of the room and there was also a mini-bar as well. The third floor contained a small office and the storage room.

"Gray-san! Are there any other bands that are going to have a sound check? The tech team is asking," someone called from the top of the stairs.

Shannon Gray nodded her head. "There's one more band I'm expecting. They should be arriving any time now." She checked her watch. "Turn the sign on in around an hour or so," she ordered and headed up the stairs to the second floor. "Oh and if the band arrives, help them bring their things up."

"Got it," Maki replied, going over the glasses with a clean towel. Bands frequently came in to audition so it wasn't such a big deal for the bartender. It wasn't until the sound of a car pulling up in front of the live house made him stop his work and greet the band at the entrance. His jaw literally dropped at the sight of five young and very cute women hauling in their equipment. "Errrr… are you the band the boss is expecting?" he stuttered, obviously taken by their beauty. If he recalled, this was the first time an all-female band of this kind of physical beauty has come in for an audition.

"That's us!" Ritsu exclaimed with a broad grin. Her arms were laden with the toms of her drum set. She and her friends all smiled gamely at the bartender.

Maki shook off his shock and offered to take Ritsu's burden. "The boss is already upstairs," he informed them. "Head on up and my co-worker and I will take the rest of your things upstairs." He pointed the way for them then headed outside to deal with the rest of the equipment stowed in the van.

Azusa looked wide-eyed at the interior of the establishment. "Wow! Everything looks good in here!" The bar in particular was the length of the wall and could sit maybe twenty people comfortably. The display and shelves behind the bar were filled with numerous bottles of alcohol. "Are you sure we're good enough to be playing in here?" She couldn't help but feel worried.

"Don't say that! We haven't even done a demo yet!" Mio cried out suddenly, obviously feeling really nervous as well.

"Maybe we should all have some tea first to calm down," Yui suggested, her brown eyes fluttering around.

Mugi shook her head and lead her friends towards the stairs. "Not now. We have to meet with Gray-san first." They trooped up the stairs and collectively gaped at the sight that greeted them. "This is more high class than I thought."

Ritsu furrowed her eyebrows at Mugi's comment. "But you were here the other day!"

"I only got to see the first floor since there was a private event on this floor," the pianist explained.

"Kotobuki-san! It's good to see you again!" The spiky-haired Shannon Gray approached the band with a warm smile. She and the band exchanged bows and handshakes. "Why don't you stow your instruments on the stage first so that we could talk?" She settled onto a couch and waited for the band to return. "First things first," she began once the young women were seated around her. "I'll need that form I asked you to fill out the other day." She thanked Ritsu who handed her the form and quickly scanned through the paper's contents. "Everything looks good." Shannon nodded her head in approval and shoved the paper into her back pocket. "As all of you may already know, I'm Shannon Gray, the owner of this live house."

"Tainaka Ritsu!"

"Nakano Azusa." The pigtailed girl bowed respectfully once more.

"Akiyama Mio."

"Hirasawa Yui!" The lead guitarist flashed a grin at the owner who laughed in reaction.

"Such a lively bunch, but it's all good!"

Yui gazed in interest at the foreign woman. "There's hardly an accent when you speak in Japanese, Gray-san," she remarked, crying out in pain as a hand connected with her head. "Owwww… Rit-chan! Why'd you hit me?"

Shannon burst out in laughter. This was certainly an interesting group. "I don't mind. I know you probably heard from Kotobuki-san that I grew up in America and moved here two years ago. I graduated with a major in Japanese Studies back home. I've always had an interest in your country so I decided to come here as soon as I had the chance."

"Ohhh! So that's why your Japanese is really good!" Yui exclaimed.

"Thanks," Shannon replied. "Anyway, since we got all the paperwork out of the way, I'd like to hear you play. I'll decide whether you'll be playing this Saturday after a couple of songs." While the young women headed to the stage and prepared their instruments, Shannon dragged a chair over to the front and sat down. Right now, she was sure of one thing. An all-female act was certainly appealing and with a little marketing, she could assure herself of a packed house. All she needed to know was whether she and the regular customers could stomach their music.

"Test, test…" Yui spoke into her microphone. Glancing at her friends, she saw they were ready on their end. The vocalist took a deep breath. "We're Houkago Tea Time! The first song we're going to play for you is Watashi no Koi wa Hotch Kiss!" They all entered perfectly with Yui flawlessly playing the opening riff. None of them could see each other smiling contently at the way they were playing, but they were obviously happy about their performance so far. They decided last night that they would play two songs, one with Yui singing vocals and the other with Mio singing. They finished the song a few minutes later and took a quick break to drink some water provided by Shannon.

This time Mio stepped up and as usual fidgeted in place despite the very empty floor in front of them. To her, the scrutinizing eyes of Shannon were equivalent to the feeling of a big audience watching them. "Ummm… the next song we'll be playing is called Pure Pure Heart." Mio gulped. She could have sworn that Shannon's lips twitched after hearing the title of their song. She just wasn't sure what that meant for them. By the time they ended the lengthy instrumental at the end of the song, Mio could feel her knees quaking in fear and nervousness. She and her friends all watched anxiously as Shannon seemed to mull over the decision in her chair for a few moments.

With a sigh, Shannon got to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll need you here at seven on Saturday," she informed the girls with a smile, raising her eyebrows when they let out a collective sigh of relief.

"I thought you weren't going to take us!" Ritsu exclaimed, fanning herself. "The look you had on your face made us think that we just weren't cut out for this gig."

Shannon shook her head. "You shouldn't worry. I was quite impressed. Sure it's a bit strange for me to be having an all-female act, but I could use that to my advantage."

"Eh?" The band stared in confusion at the owner.

"Your music is good and I have a feeling the clients would like the upbeat rock you play," Shannon took the time to explain. "There's a certain appeal attached to a cutesy all-girl band. I'm sure it'll attract enough people to fill the place."

"Cutesy?" Azusa murmured.

"We're… cute?" Mio was absolutely red in embarrassment.

Shannon once more burst into laughter. "I didn't mean that in a bad way," she assured the girls. "All of you are really cute! Seriously! Pretty in a mature sense if that makes you feel better." She covered her growing grin with her hand. "To be honest, your physical appearance would certainly attract male clientele, which would be a good thing for you and me. Profit for me and a bigger fan base for you." She gazed at the shell-shocked group of friends. "Anyway, I would love for you to play here this coming Saturday! Let's all sit down so that we could discuss the other details." She and the younger women were halfway through the discussion when a deep and somehow musical voice called out to them from the landing.

"Shannon! Are you here? I brought over some of the leftover barbecue ribs I made!" The unknown woman spoke in English as she approached the occupied table. "Oh. I didn't know you were doing business," she remarked, her emerald green eyes gazing at the group of women before her.

"We're just wrapping up," Shannon replied in English, getting to her feet and hugging the taller woman with fiery auburn hair. "What's with the glasses? Don't tell me you lost your contacts again!"

The redhead laughed. "You got me there!" She returned the hug and pulled away. "Anyway, I'll just leave this here if you want me out of the way." She placed the plastic bag on the table.

"No need to hurry," Shannon told her friend. "Sit for a while. I want to introduce you to these girls anyway." She grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the table. Switching to Japanese for the sake of her companions, she said, "This is Terry Quinn. She's a college friend of mine who's studying at the Sora College of Music. Music Production and Sound Engineering will be your second degree, right?"

"That's right," Terry replied in Japanese much to the surprise of the younger women gazing up at her. "I guess you're surprised that I could speak the language." She settled herself in the chair and carefully looked at each of them, her vivid eyes settling on the bassist. "You all look pretty young. College students?"

"H-Hai!" Mio inadvertently replied in a loud voice. While Mugi was mesmerized by the sight of two foreign women hugging each other earlier, Mio on the other hand wasn't quite used to the attention she was getting.

Terry grinned while Shannon just shrugged. "You're a funny one," she remarked. "Has Shannon been giving you a hard time?"

"Hey!" Shannon indignantly barked.

"I was joking," Terry drawled.

"She's been very kind to us," Mugi pointed out.

"I never doubted that," Terry assured her friend. "So how long have you girls been in a band?"

Yui shot her hand in the air eager to answer, which garnered another round of laughter from the two foreign women. "Five years now! Four years for Azusa since she joined us when she was a freshman in high school." In her opinion, the two older women were nice and cool. Shannon looked like a punk rocker while Terry reminded her of a cross between an athlete and a sophisticated woman.

"I figured you formed when you girls were still in high school." Terry nodded her head at the form the band filled out. "Your band name was a giveaway." While she asked for more details about the early days of their band, the redhead couldn't help but notice the youngest member of the band staring intently at her. She decided not to mind it in any case. Fifteen minutes later, Terry tried to take her leave only to have Shannon beg her to stay.

"Have a drink with me at least," Shannon tried to persuade her friend.

Terry grimaced at the prospect of drinking. "Shannon, it's still too early to drink," she scolded, knowing that her friend was quite the alcoholic. "It isn't proper for the owner of the live house to be inebriated too."

Shannon simply smiled and seemingly wrapped a friendly arm around Terry's shoulders. Without warning, the arm tightened painfully. "You're staying to have a drink with me," she insisted in a dangerous voice.

Terry sighed. "Oh alright," she agreed. "Just _one_ drink!"

"Great!" The blond-haired owner turned her attention to the band. "Anyway, be sure to give me your set list when you arrive on Saturday." She paused for a moment to think. "Do you girls want to have a drink as well?" she asked innocently, flinching in pain when a sharp elbow connected with her ribs. "What?" she demanded crossly.

"Why do you always have to assume that the people you meet will willingly agree to have a drink with you?" Terry muttered, shaking her head as the younger women hid their smiles. "Well, I suppose all of you are of legal age already anyway."

"Not me," Azusa informed them. "I'm still four months away from twenty-one."

"Orange juice for you then," Shannon decided, getting to her feet and herding their group downstairs to the bar. "Don't worry! I won't spike it!" she assured the blue-haired guitarist. "I really insist anyway that we each share a drink and wish for a good performance this coming Saturday!" They all sat at the bar. "Hey Maki! Get me six Americanos and one orange juice!"

"Coming right up!" Maki replied. "Closed the deal then?" he asked his boss.

"Yeah, they'll be replacing that band with the strange name."

"Dumpster Diving?" Maki supplied.

Terry couldn't help herself and laughed. "That's quite a name." She watched as the bartender mixed Campari, sweet vermouth and soda then poured the mixture into six glasses with ice, topping each with a twist of lemon. He then reached beneath the bar and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Once he filled a tall glass with that, he served the drinks to the women seated before him.

"Ahem!" Shannon cleared her throat and held her drink up. "Here's to a new partnership, a good performance, and big profit for me!" They raised their glasses to each other and tried their drinks. Shannon easily gulped down half of the drink down. "Phew! I needed that! I have to loosen up before opening."

"Hmmm... it tastes pretty good," Ritsu decided after having a couple of sips of her drink. "I'm more partial to sweet cocktails though."

"That's a recipe for disaster though. Sugar absorbs and enhances the alcohol and it takes longer for you to flush it out," Terry informed the younger women, who looked like they weren't heavy drinkers yet. "You'll get drunk just as fast as taking shots." She jerked her head at her friend who was already on her second glass. "Don't let this woman influence you."

"Hey I resent that!"

An hour later, the live house opened. Terry and the college students stood at the entrance bidding each other goodbye. "Well girls, looks like you have a designated driver so I have nothing to worry about." She smiled and chuckled at one particular brunette who was pressing a hand against her head. "Although, I'm a bit surprised that Yui develop a headache after just having one drink."

"Urghhh… I should have just had orange juice like Azu-nyan!"

"Terry-san, we could give you a ride," Mio shyly offered.

"Please do ride with us," Mugi politely insisted while Ritsu and Azusa helped Yui into the van and stowed the rest of their instruments at the back.

Terry shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm sure my condominium is out of the way. It's easy enough to take the train." She shook hands with the girls except for Yui who was already inside the van. "It was nice meeting all of you. I'll be sure to come by this Saturday to see you girls play." With that said, the auburn-haired woman ambled down the road towards the nearest train station.

"Aren't they cool?" Ritsu asked as the van pulled away from the curb and merged with the traffic. "Shannon-san is really cool! I wonder if she was in a band before."

"Terry-san is cool too!" Mio blurted out, slightly blushing. "I felt callouses on her fingers when we shook hands so she must have been in a band too!"

"She probably played guitar," Mugi guessed. "What kind of guitar though?"

"Azu-nyan! What are you thinking of? You look distracted," Yui told their kohai.

The blue-haired girl shook her head. "No… I was just thinking that Terry-san looked familiar. I just can't place my finger on it." She sighed and gave up. "Oh well, I might have seen someone on TV or in a magazine that looked like her."

"She doesn't act like she's a famous person," Mio pointed out. "Anyway, we should start practicing again as soon as we get home. We have to be at our best when we perform this weekend."

"Oh wait! We should call Sawa-chan and ask her to come watch us!" Ritsu suggested, taking out her cellphone and called their former teacher and club supervisor. "Ah! Sawa-chan! You have to come to our gig!"

"_Rit-chan, don't talk too fast,"_ the teacher scolded her former student. _"Now what's this about a gig? You know I'd love to go."_

"It's this Saturday at The Cobalt Loft," Ritsu excitedly replied, giving their teacher all the necessary details. "You can go right, Sawa-chan?"

"_Hmmm… well, I'm free on that day so there shouldn't be any problem. Good thing we're in the same city. Anyway, I'll be there for sure."_

"We'll see you then, Sawa-chan!" Ritsu hung up and pumped her fist in the air. "You should call Nodoka-chan, Ui-chan and Jun-chan as well."

"I should!" Yui weakly said. Her younger sister and her childhood best friend were both studying in the prestigious Tokyo University while Jun was in Osaka. "Sawa-chan must be doing well with her master's classes, huh?"

Mio nodded. "Sakura High School gave her a sabbatical leave because she's been performing really well as an educator. I was just a little bit surprised that she wanted to take a master's degree."

"I'm not! At least we get to see her more often now!" Yui remarked happily. Their former teacher was studying in a university on the other side of the city. "Errrr… guys?"

"What?" Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa chorused.

"I'm… feeling dizzy."

"No! Hold it in!" Ritsu shouted.

"Please don't!" Mio shrieked, covering her eyes in fright.

"Drive faster!" Mugi shouted at the driver who swerved into a less crowded road.

Azusa sighed and merely looked out the window. "So much for practice later," she mumbled, knowing that they would probably skip it due to Yui's current state.

* * *

_**Brand new story and I'm on a roll! For those who are wondering about the length of my chapters, it's a typical characteristic of my stories. I really prefer writing long chapters. More original characters are to come in future chapters plus a more extensive look on the current life of Sawako. I try to update regularly, but don't be surprised if I disappear for a long while. I do have work. **_

_**Reviews are highly appreciated!**_

_**Yours truly, **_

_**Shadowed one**_


	2. Recognition

_Chapter 2: "Recognition"_

She knew that it wasn't good, but she couldn't help but feel a little smug with the way people openly stared at her. She certainly changed a lot from her time as a passionate heavy metal musician. People often described her as beautiful, elegant, gentle and kind, the last three were obviously non-existent in her character back in her high school days. After having the boy she first loved reject her after going wild as he originally wanted, it felt good that people acknowledged for the person she wanted to be. It was only with the girls when she would revert to that past persona. At least it was something she had grown comfortable with, if and only if she was with the Houkago Tea Time band and her former Death Devil band mates. Her students in Sakura High School all knew about her past in the band and even admired her for it. She still wasn't sure if that was a curse or a blessing. It was often embarrassing when she'd lapse into her Catherine persona during classes. Her co-teachers would always come at a run ready to get angry at her. They couldn't do that because her students would either be laughing their heads off or fawning over how cool she was. Other than that, the administration had been very happy with her performance over the years and when she came to them to ask a sabbatical leave to pursue a master's degree, they easily agreed.

During the lengthy spring break that followed after her last school year of teaching, she explored her choices of various universities where she could attain her chosen post-graduate degree. Educational Psychology has always been the logical choice for her and she had to admit that it was a course that never failed to pique her interest. She supposed it was fate that she ended up picking a university that was in the same city her former charges were in. The Houkago Tea Time band lived in the same apartment and went to the same private university for women, which just so happened to be on the other side of the city. Her chosen university on the other hand was on the opposite side and was co-ed. Sora International University was recently lauded for its education department and was considered one of the top international universities in the country. With some help from the Sakura High School Administration, she was able to get a recommendation and easily got in. Of course, she was still strapped financially despite receiving half-pay for a full-year sabbatical. To make ends meet, she took on tutoring high school students in her spare time and even taught basic guitar lessons to a few young and aspiring musicians. The latter was done a bit grudgingly, but she just shrugged it off since she needed to money to pay for rent and the like.

The first week of classes had been very productive for her in the academic and social aspect. She realized that classes weren't so difficult, but they still challenged her enough. As for the social aspect, she already had quite a number of admirers and a couple of others she could consider as friends. It was a little lonesome living in a different city away from many of her friends and family, but she figured that a year or two of being on her own would do her good. On the other hand, she couldn't avoid mentoring her former students as they struggled to progress with their music career. As their mentor, she did her best to encourage them and help when necessary, but there was only so much she could do. Her own stint in trying to make it big in the music industry had been short lived.

"Sawako!"

The brunette whirled around and looked for the voice who called to her. Her soft hazel eyes set behind a simple pair of glasses twinkled in amusement as a woman her age trotted up to her. "Riko, is something wrong?" She eyed her schoolmate and noticed that she was breathing heavily. "You look like you're in a hurry."

Ebony black hair styled in a simple bob bounced as the woman approached Sawako. "Sawako! I need a favor!" Riko gasped after stopping her run. "Do you happen to have your Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology book right now?" The dark-haired woman swiped at her sweaty face and looked desperately up at the taller woman. "Please say yes!"

Sawako sighed and pulled out the rather heavy book from her bag. "It's a good thing that the class that requires this book was my first one today," she remarked, handing the book over to her first friend in Sora International University. "Didn't you say that you were going to buy one the last time we saw each other?"

"I did," Riko replied. "I had a load of other materials to buy and by the time I got to the psychology section, I was short by several hundred yen," she sheepishly explained. Glancing at her watch, she frowned and tucked the book in the crook of her arm. "I'll come find you after my next class and return this to you. I'll send you a message when I'm done!" She waved goodbye and briskly walked off.

Sawako watched until she could not see the retreating figure of her friend then headed off towards her next class in a more relaxed pace. It was nearly four in the afternoon when she finally ended the last class for the day. Instead of waiting for Riko, who messaged her earlier in the afternoon asking if she could return her book the following morning instead, she decided to head home to her apartment. She couldn't help but get sidetracked as she was surrounded by a number of male admirers near the campus exit.

"Sawako-san, if you're free I'd love to buy you a warm drink!"

"I'll treat you out to dinner!"

"No way! I'll treat you to dinner and give you a ride home!"

Sawako inwardly sighed as the young men fought over her. There was a limit to how much she liked the attention given to her. She made several failed attempts to tell the men that she wasn't free and was in hurry to get going, but she was always pushed out of their heated conversation. Her Catherine persona was forcing itself out, but she kept her grip on it since she was not willing to lose face in public. Sometime later, someone took notice of her trembling hands, although it wasn't any of the men.

"Sorry boys, but she and I have a previous engagement," an unfamiliar voice said close by.

Sawako wasn't one to gawk, but she had to join the men as they stared at the unknown woman. The first word that entered the teacher's mind was stunning. The woman that stood with a sense of ease and confidence before them was certainly a foreigner. Fiery and wind-tossed auburn hair topped a slightly tanned and angular face while vivid emerald green eyes gazed back at them with amusement. She was lithe and wiry in build and stood taller than all the men with her height, which was a couple of inches off from six feet. Even the way she was dressed, despite it being rather simple, drew stares from other passerby. The foreign woman wore a dark navy blue military jacket that was left unbuttoned, which exposed the simple white polo shirt underneath, fit black pants and comfortable dark gray sidewalk surfers on her feet.

"Well? I know I kept you waiting," the redhead remarked, subtly jerking her head to the campus exit.

Sawako snapped out of her thoughts and quickly wove through the entranced group of men. "Sorry, but I have to get going," she told them and hurriedly tried to keep up with the long-legged redhead. When they were a good distance away, the bespectacled brunette tapped the stranger and made her stop. "Thanks for that," she said with a grateful smile. "Ummm…"

The redhead smiled. "Terry Quinn," she supplied, sticking her hand out for a handshake.

"Yamanaka Sawako." Sawako firmly shook hands with the taller woman.

"Yamanaka… Sawako?" Terry furrowed her eyebrows in sudden thought.

"Is something wrong?"

Terry shook her head. "No, no. Your name just sounds really familiar. I've heard it recently," she explained, rubbing her chin in thought.

"That's certainly interesting," Sawako remarked. "I can't help but wonder myself where you've heard of my name." Her hazel eyes twinkled with mirth as she grinned up at the taller woman. "In any case, I would really like it if you allow me to thank you properly for rescuing me earlier."

"There's really no need," Terry replied, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I really insist. It would make me feel better." She looked around and spotted a café on the next street. "How about I treat you for some coffee or tea?"

Terry thought about it for a moment then nodded her head. "I suppose I could let you treat me," she said with a small smile. She followed Sawako across the street and into the quaint café. Once they were comfortably seated at a table in the corner, they fell into easy conversation. "So you're studying at Sora International?" the American asked.

Sawako nodded as she sipped her tea. "Yes. Master's degree actually," she clarified. "Educational Psychology," she added. "How about you? I assume you're studying in the same university as well since you were in the campus."

"Not exactly," Terry replied, sipping her coffee. "I'm studying at the affiliate school of Sora International. Music Engineering and Sound Production at Sora College of Music will be my second degree."

Sawako whistled softly at that. "Wow! Second degree! That's amazing!"

Terry shook her head ruefully. "A Master's degree is equally amazing too."

"Why that course though?"

Terry drummer her long fingers against the table. "Well, it's a long story."

"I don't mind," Sawako assured her new friend, slightly leaning forward to hear her better.

Terry couldn't help but smile at how interested this Japanese woman was in her life. "I actually first attained a degree in Computer Programming. While I was still in college, I was doing some side jobs arranging music for all sorts of musicians and groups."

"So you're a musician as well?" Sawako asked, immediately intrigued.

"I was," Terry replied. "Anyway, I wasn't happy with the music scoring software available at that time so I made one to my own liking. After I graduated, I decided to set up my own software company and made it our flagship product. We're actually going on our third year now and things are going pretty well."

Sawako remained quiet as Terry collected her thoughts. She noticed that Terry had subtly avoided the topic about being a musician, but she paid it no mind. She supposed the redhead used to play leisurely before becoming busy with school and work.

"A few months ago, my business partner and I realized that it wouldn't be a bad idea to expand our product line. Sure, we've so far developed four software programs, not all of them music related, but we figured that we could add to our repertoire." Terry gently blew the hot beverage then took another sip. "Since I had a talent for arranging music, I thought that it would be a good idea to get further education in Music Production and Sound Engineering. We'd be catering to the musicians and artists in the music industry that way."

Sawako nodded her head with admiration. "You seem to have everything planned out. You're obviously a great company president."

Terry laughed. "Thanks. I'm flattered."

"What else did you do while you were still in America? Any hobbies aside from staring at your computer?" Sawako asked teasingly.

"Hobbies? Hmmm… well, before I got really involved in my company, I was an avid surfer."

"A surfer?"

"A California girl as people call it," Terry joked. "Seriously, I grew up near the coast so it was like a fish to water when it came to me learning how to surf." She ran her fingers through her auburn hair. "The tan has faded though since I spend most of my days indoors."

"Why not head to the beach while you're here? Japan certainly has good beaches."

"Maybe, but not right now. The school year just started so I'll have to wait for the next holiday or break to look for a suitable beach with the right waves." Terry glanced at her watch. "Are you doing anything after this? I know you might be in a hurry."

Sawako shook her head. "No I'm not really in a hurry although I do have to pick up something before I head home."

"What's that?"

"A guest pass," Sawako replied. "My former students are performing at a live house this Saturday and I promised to come watch them. They told me to just pick up the guest pass so that I could come earlier and avoid the crowds."

"Does this live house happen to be The Cobalt Loft?"

"Why yes!"

Terry raised her eyebrows in realization. "You're the mentor of Houkago Tea Time?"

"You've met the girls?" Sawako demanded.

Terry nodded. "I have. A college friend of mine owns that live house and got the girls as a replacement for one of their acts." She suddenly grinned. "Now I know why your name sounded familiar. Shannon mentioned that the girls were inviting their mentor and former teacher." The American gestured at Sawako's hands. "I noticed that your fingers are calloused. Am I assuming right that you play guitar?"

Sawako suddenly stiffened.

"Sorry, did I venture into a touchy topic?"

Sawako furiously shook her head. "N-No! I did play guitar. I was in a band once back in high school." She tried to stay calm, but she knew that Terry probably noticed how jittery she had suddenly become. Sooner or later, Terry was going to ask about what kind of musician she had been and she was certainly not willing to share that… yet.

A sigh escaped Terry's lips. "I won't pry," she assured her. "Just looking at you now tells me that this is an uncomfortable subject for you." She finished her drink and got to her feet. "Anyway, if it's alright with you, I'd like to accompany you to The Cobalt Loft."

Sawako followed suit and got up. "I don't mind and besides, I'm not entirely sure how to get there so it would be a great help if you came along with me."

Terry grinned. "Glad that I could be of help." She led the way while she easily made conversation with her companion. She tried to keep her occupied and entertained throughout the fifteen minute train ride and the short walk to the establishment. By the time they entered the live house, Shannon was already getting ready to open the place.

"Terry!" Shannon strode over and hugged her friend. "Did you come over to have a pre-opening drink with me?"

"I swear! Alcohol must be the only thing in that brain of yours," Terry jokingly accused, hugging her friend back. "But no, I'm in no mood to drink," she firmly told the owner. "Actually, I accompanied Sawako here to pick up her guest pass."

Shannon jumped to make the necessary introductions. "I've heard a lot about you from your former students."

"Good things I hope?" Sawako gave a shaky smile, watching as Shannon burst into laughter.

"Well, they've only told me a few things honestly like you being their teacher, club supervisor, mentor and friend. Other than that, they did say that you were in a band before, but they didn't give me many details on that. Tainaka was smirking the whole time though so I can only assume that they're hiding something… juicy." She gave Sawako an expectant look.

"I-I…" Sawako stuttered.

Terry roughly shoved Shannon who almost fell on her butt from the force. "Stop that. If she doesn't want to share then don't pry," she scolded, ignoring the fierce scowl on the blonde's face.

"Yeah and I'm sure you're saying that because _you _don't want to share as well!"

Before Terry and Shannon could start arguing, Sawako suddenly blurted, "I'd like to have a drink if it's okay!"

Both of the foreign women stared at Sawako who nervously transferred her weight from one heeled foot to another. "Well? What about it Terry?"

Terry let out a defeated sigh. "I suppose one drink won't hurt." They all settled down at the bar and ordered different drinks. "Don't listen to whatever this woman says about me. Most of the time, they're stretched beyond the truth," she murmured to Sawako who sat in between them.

"I resent that!" Shannon barked as she downed her drink and immediately ordered a refill. She leaned over to get a better look at Sawako. "I'm sure you've tried asking about her past. Did you notice how good she is at turning the subject?"

Sawako hid a smile with her hand. So she was right when she thought that Terry was hiding something by changing the subject of their previous conversation. "Well I did, but I didn't really mind." She shot a smile at the redhead who grumbled. "How did you and Terry-san meet?"

"Terry is just fine. Drop the honorifics. I'm still not used to having people attach those extra words to my name."

Shannon didn't bother to hide her grin as she set out to explain how she and Terry became friends. "That bumbling business partner of hers is my cousin," she began. "It was through him that I got to know Terry and I still seriously think about how Terry allowed herself to fall into such bad company."

Terry chuckled at the joke Shannon made about Miles. "She speaks badly of him all the time, but she's mostly just joking." She asked the bartender to take away her emptied glass and thanked him when he served her water instead. "Miles has always been a smart student, but he had trouble with a few of his math-related subjects back in college." Jerking her head at Shannon, she added, "She doesn't look like it, but Shannon's pretty much a genius when it comes to math."

"I'll try to ignore that underhanded insult," Shannon drawled. "Anyway, Miles usually kept coming to me for frequent tutoring sessions and on one particular session, he dragged Terry along. That was the start of our friendship and the tutoring tag team."

Sawako sighed happily. "The three of you must be really close."

"That's certainly true," Shannon agreed immediately. "I had my own group of friends, but it was fun to hang out with Terry and her group once in a while."

"Group?" Sawako queried.

"Aside from Miles and me, there were two others in our group," Terry explained.

"The heart throbs of the campus as I called them back in the day," Shannon teased, winking at the redhead who merely furrowed her eyebrows in dismay. "What? It's true! Do you know how often random people approached me for an introduction to you guys?"

"You're going overboard again with your storytelling," Terry drawled. Focusing her attention once more on Sawako, she said, "I suppose the last part of Shannon's claim is somewhat true, but mostly the popularity and fame was due to the two other friends in our group."

"One of them just so happens to be a famous model," Shannon remarked. "All the boys chased after her and I'm sure it's still happening now. As for the other one, he had lots of fan girls who absolutely adored his buff body. He used to compete as a gymnast in the rings event before he quit early in college."

Sawako looked at Terry. "How about you? I highly doubt that you didn't have your own fans."

"She did have fans!" Shannon said plaintively. "Terry attracted a lot of attention because of her looks and her prowess on a surfboard."

"Shannon…" Terry warned wearily, not really liking the way the conversation was going.

"You should see her in a bikini! It's an absolute treat!"

Sawako held back a laugh as Terry reached over and punched Shannon on the arm. "Do the two of you really bicker this much?" she asked when the two friends stopped.

"If Shannon wasn't so tactless, we wouldn't be bickering," Terry darkly replied.

"_If _Terry wasn't so defensive, we wouldn't be bickering!"

Sawako held up her hands to prevent a brawl. "Okay! Okay! I get it!" She shook her head in amusement at Terry who was scowling deeply and Shannon who was sticking her tongue out. "Seriously, the two of you are an interesting pair of friends."

"Dysfunctional is better way to describe it," Terry muttered.

"With her causing the dysfunction," Shannon shot back.

"Anyway!" Sawako raised her voice. "The girls told me that you had a guest pass for this Saturday's event."

Shannon stared blankly at Sawako then shot out of her seat. "Oh yeah! They asked if they could just leave it with me for you to pick up. Wait here for a minute!" She scurried up the stairs to her office to retrieve the pass. When she got back to the first floor, both Terry and Sawako were waiting by the exit. "You're leaving already?"

"Unlike you, we've got homework and class tomorrow," Terry reminded the blonde. "You'll see us anyway this Saturday."

"You're really coming?"

"You don't want me to?"

Shannon furiously shook her head. "Of course I want you to come! I need a sober head here especially when the drinks start flowing."

"And of course you were implying that you're most likely not going to be sober on that night," Terry remarked with a smirk. "Anyway, I'll be there. I'd like to see those girls perform."

"Great! I'll see the two of you then!" Shannon waved once then headed back inside the live house.

Terry continued to shake her head as she and Sawako walked off towards the train station. "I feel like I'm her keeper," she murmured loud enough for the brunette to hear.

Sawako smiled up at the taller redhead. "I find it admirable that you continue to keep an eye on your friend despite how troublesome it gets."

"Yeah…"

"Heading home now, right?"

The programmer nodded. "By the looks of it, we're taking the same train, but getting off at different stations right?"

Sawako nodded. "Shall we catch the next train then?"

* * *

_Saturday... a few minutes past eight in the evening._

_

* * *

_

Even though the main musical acts were scheduled to start at nine, The Cobalt Loft was practically full with a long queue of people hoping to get in despite the lack of invites. The first floor bar and lounge was crammed with a variety of customers who were socializing, drinking or just simply waiting for certain musical acts to start. Live music blared from one floor above, which was punctuated with the occasional roars from the vocalists and cheers from the audience.

Obviously running late due to some last minute wardrobe decisions, Sawako bypassed the long queue much to their dismay and walked up to the hulking bouncer positioned at the entrance. It took a simple flash of the guest pass for the bouncer to nod and gesture her inside. Dressed in her favorite leather jacket, a tube top, tight jeans and heels, Sawako ambled into the dimly lit live house and searched for a familiar face. She knew that her former students were probably backstage and with the crowded proximity, it would be difficult to spot Shannon or Terry. Sighing after two unsuccessful searches, the bespectacled brunette headed to a vacant seat at the bar and sat down.

"What can I get for you?"

"Asahi Z," Sawako replied, not really paying attention to the people around her. A chilled glass and her ordered bottle of beer slid into place in front of her. "Arigatou."

"Aren't you an acquaintance of Gray-san?"

"Hmmm? Oh, you mean Shannon?"

The bartender smiled as he nodded his head. "Yeah. I recognized you from the last time you visited." He stuck his hand out amiably for a handshake. "I'm Maki." He was an average-looking man in his early thirties. What made him stand out were the purple highlights he kept in his black hair.

"Sawako," she replied, taking Maki's hand and shaking it. "So you've been working with Shannon ever since she opened?"

Maki shook his head. "I'm her third bartender although I came in about four months after she first opened. Gray-san was quite pissed at her first two bartenders. The first one kept giving free drinks away to all sorts of women who flirted with him and the second one was stealing all sorts of beverages from our inventory."

"You're not a troublemaker then?" Sawako asked in a teasing voice.

Maki laughed. "I couldn't be in any case. Gray-san pretty much scared the shit out of me during the job interview. Besides, I needed the job badly and I wasn't about to jeopardize the opportunity." He excused himself briefly to refill the drinks of the other customers seated at the bar then returned to Sawako. "I heard that you're the mentor of the cutesy girl band performing later."

Sawako sighed. She wasn't sure yet how she felt that people were connecting her to a cutesy and girly band. She was certainly proud of them in any case. "Are they here?"

Maki jerked his head upwards at the ceiling. "They're waiting around in the third floor office. Gray-san let them stay in there instead of the room reserved for the acts. We're fully booked today so there wasn't enough space for them in there so they were relocated. I don't think they mind the cramped and messy office of Gray-san since they have privacy."

Sawako shrugged her shoulders and took a gulp of her beer. "Knowing them, they're thinking that they're getting some special treatment and taking advantage of it." Her beer was already gone and Maki was already in the process of getting her another bottle. "Just one more for now," she told the older man. "I don't want to get wasted before the girls perform."

Maki chuckled in reply and left Sawako to nurse her second bottle of beer.

"It's her alright! Sawako-sensei!"

The former guitarist twisted in her seat to see the person who called out her name. She smiled and waved at three young women making their way towards her. "Ui-chan, Nodoka-chan and Jun-chan!" she greeted happily. "I'm glad that you could make it! Yui and the others would be very happy to see all of you!" College had certainly played a part in the obvious maturity in the three women before her. Nodoka looked even more respectable than she did back in high school and looked prettier having grown her hair out a bit. Ui was the spitting image of her older sister that night since she wore her hair down. Jun's trademark bushy hair was noticeably tamer while she had also filled out her body some, which lessened her boyishness.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Ui exclaimed excitedly, her eyes roving the interior of the live house. "Have you seen them yet, Sawako-sensei?"

The long-haired brunette shook her head. "I haven't yet."

"They should be performing soon anyway," Nodoka pointed out after glancing at her watch. "Should we head upstairs already?"

Sawako instantly gulped down the rest of her drink and laid a few bills on the bar for Maki to retrieve. "I'll come along. They'll be angry with me if I'm not there when they start." She thanked Maki first then slipped off the stool. "Shall we head upstairs then?" She followed the younger women through the crowd and up to the second floor where it was even more crowded. Apparently, the place was packed due to the news that an all-girl group was going to perform. She supposed Shannon had did some pretty good marketing.

"Woah! There are so many people!" Jun exclaimed. They weaved through the audience and found places in front of the stage. Already, the tech team was preparing the stage for the next band to perform. "I don't recall them playing for such a big crowd in their past gigs."

Ui nodded eagerly. "It's great exposure for them!"

Sawako stood with them for a few minutes making small talk until she glimpsed a familiar head of tussled auburn hair standing at the far side of the room. "I'll be right back," she told the three girls then weaved her way towards the end of the room. She was met with a warm smile as the redheaded woman kept her position of leaning against the wall. "Hello Terry."

"Hello to you too, Sawako," Terry greeted back, her emerald green eyes locking with those hazel colored ones. "I was wondering if you were here already." She moved aside a bit to allow Sawako to lean against the wall next to her. She shrugged her shoulders and languidly crossed her arms over her chest. "This place is simply packed. I couldn't find a place to sit and I'm not exactly willing to exchange elbows with the audience to get a good place near the stage."

Sawako chuckled at how honest her friend was. "I'll probably have to exchange elbows with the audience later on," she teased, hazel eyes twinkling with mischief. "Have you been here long?" she asked.

"Hmmm… Maybe two hours now. Shannon begged me to come earlier so I did just that." Terry sighed and brushed away stray strands of her auburn hair that fell over her face. She was dressed simply for that night in a wrinkled white polo shirt that was halfway unbuttoned with the sleeves carelessly rolled up to her elbows, a green sleeveless shirt underneath that complimented her eyes, a pair of black skinny jeans and different pair of sidewalk surfers. "You look nice," she remarked after looking Sawako over.

Blushing from the compliment, Sawako replied, "Thanks. You look nice too." Suddenly, the lights came on and brightened the stage. "Will you excuse me? I've got to get back to the front. The girls will throw a fit if they don't see me there supporting them."

Terry chuckled and waved her off. "We can talk later."

Sawako bowed her head in thanks to the foreign woman and headed towards the stage. Once she took her place between Ui and Nodoka, she had to suppress a moan as her former students trooped onto the stage in their high school uniform. Instead of the usual ribbon tied at their collars, they mixed it up a bit by wearing varying neck ties. She should have known that they would wear their old uniforms. She would have brought a suitcase full of costumes and forced them to wear something else. Then again, they would have probably refused. Mio in particular would vehemently refuse to wear anything she'd bring for her specifically. The young woman was still too shy.

"Houkago!" Ui shouted, prompting the audience to applaud and let out a variety of hoots and catcalls.

"Looking good Azusa-chan!" Jun unabashedly called out as Azusa checked her Mustang.

Nodoka simply applauded for her former classmates and said to Sawako, "Mio looks like she's about to faint."

Sawako grinned and silently agreed. The bassist was pale and gripping her bass guitar a bit too hard. "Yui is oblivious of course," she pointed out, shaking her head in amusement as the lead guitarist happily acknowledged her friends.

Yui then approached the microphone and flashed a big smile at their audience. "Good evening!" she greeted. "We're Houkago Tea Time and we'll be performing a few songs for you tonight!" She waited as the audience cheered for them. Like they decided earlier with Shannon, they would be playing a total of four songs; two that would be sung by Yui and the others sung by a reluctant Mio. "Before we play our first song, we'd like to introduce ourselves!" She flashed another grin at the audience. "I'm Yui!"

"Azusa," the rhythm guitarist followed.

"Mugi!" the pianist cheerfully said into her microphone.

"I'm Ritsu!"

"M-Mio," the bassist murmured, reddening when a number of girls at the center of the audience squealed at the sound of her voice. She immediately knew that her fan club was represented in that event.

"Alright! Our first song is called Watashi no Koi wa Hotch Kiss!"

Ritsu raised her drumsticks in the air and clapped them together to start of the beat. "One, two, three, four!" They all flawlessly entered with their instruments. Almost immediately, the audience was pleasantly surprised with the skill and good sound the band produced. Yui easily worked the crowd up with her energetic personality and midway through the song, the audience was bobbing their heads along with the music and raising their hands in the air. In between songs, Yui and her friends made small talk with the audience who seemed to be quite taken by them.

Thirty minutes later, the band was wrapping up their last song with their trademark Fuwa Fuwa Time. They received a rousing cheer from their audience and several were actually chanting for them to do an encore, which they could not do since Shannon was running a tight schedule. Yui and the other members gave their thanks and bade them goodbye before heading off the stage. While Nodoka, Ui and Jun went in search for a vacant table or couch, Sawako headed back to where she left Terry. As she approached, she noticed that Terry had that same serious look on her face, which she had throughout most of the performance. She couldn't figure out what the redhead was thinking about the whole time. "Hey," she greeted after taking up her spot by the American's side.

The seriousness was broken with a smile. "Hey."

"How'd you find their performance? It was your first time to hear them right?"

Terry nodded her head and pressed her fingers against her jaw. "They're good. Have they played in a lot of gigs before this?"

Sawako shook her head. "They've played in other gigs, but they were mostly small scale and were few to begin with. They played regularly at major events back when they were in high school, but that's about it. College has kept them busy."

"I can only guess that they practice a lot to create such great sound." Terry raised her eyebrows when Sawako just laughed at what she just said. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"Well the truth is that they usually just practice when they have a gig coming up. If there aren't any lined up, they usually try to practice once a week though practice is usually an ordeal for them. Some of the girls get really distracted." Sawako hid a smile as she specifically thought of how Yui, Ritsu and sometimes Mugi aggravated Mio and Azusa whenever they tried to make the most of a practice session.

Terry looked genuinely surprised. "They must have really good chemistry then," she hypothesized.

"What were you doing a while ago?"

"Huh?"

"You looked like you were thinking of something throughout the performance. I kept looking over and you'd always look deep in thought."

Terry smiled sheepishly. "Oh. I didn't realize that you were watching me." She rubbed the back of her head and started to explain herself. "Well, I was… listening."

"Listening?" Sawako repeated, uncertain.

"Well, yeah. I guess it's better to say that I was trying to make sense of their music. I wasn't just listening with my ears." She pointed at her ears for emphasis. "I was listening with my whole body I guess and I could tell that their music is good from doing that."

"How so?" Sawako was intrigued.

Terry furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "It's hard to explain," she began then shrugged her shoulders. "There's this thrum I feel in my body… a good thrum and vibration I guess whenever I hear good music."

"What does it feel like if it's bad?"

Terry paused to think about it. "Well, the worst that's happened is that my teeth ache." She laughed at that admission. "Usually that happens when certain bands believe that roaring and shouting their way through a song is a wonderful thing to do."

Sawako covered a smile with her hand. "I know what you mean."

"Yo! I finally found the both of you!" Shannon strode over albeit in slightly drunk swagger. She hugged Terry first then surprised Sawako when she hugged her too. "I got the girls and their friends two of the couches to sit on. We could join them." She took the lead and headed off towards two corner couches where the familiar group of young women sat and talked.

"Sorry," Terry quietly told Sawako. "She gets a bit touchy feely when she's been drinking."

Sawako shook her head at the apology. "It's alright. I wasn't bothered by it at all."

Yui was the first to notice their arrival. She jumped to her feet and waved her arms in the air. "Sawa-chan! Did you enjoy the show?" she asked, watching as Terry let Sawako and Shannon find a place to sit on before sitting down herself.

Sawako beamed at them. "You were all great!"

"It's been a while since I last heard live music that good," Terry added, grinning when Mio started blushing while Yui and Ritsu whooped and enthusiastically hugged each other. "There's no shortage of professional bands who sound wonderful on CD, but once they get on stage it's a different story. You girls though just sound really good. It was a good listen for me." She leaned back against the couch and frowned when one of the waiters brought over a tray of cocktails and shots. "Shannon, you're going to be working until the wee hours of morning," she scolded to no avail as the spiky haired woman distributed the cocktails for the younger girls and placed shots in front of herself, Terry and Sawako.

"There's a thirty minute lull before the activities begin again," Shannon informed the group and eagerly downed her first shot of tequila. She smiled at Azusa who was frowning at the cocktail placed before her. "Don't worry, no one knows that you're still a few months underage," she assured the underage girls. "One drink won't be any trouble."

"You always say that," Terry pointed out in exasperation, feeling a calming hand on her arm. She saw that Sawako was slightly shaking her head at her. She glared at Shannon for a few more seconds before relenting. "You're taking full responsibility."

"You're going to be responsible too!" Shannon cheerfully replied and held another shot glass in the air. "A toast first!" She waited for everyone else to grab their drinks and raise them in the air. "Kampai!" she shouted and grinned as everyone else sipped their drinks happily, while Terry reluctantly downed her shot. "Since all of you are, I'd like to get the business done and over with." She leaned over and happily looked at the band. "I've decided that I'd like for you to be a weekly act here in The Cobalt Loft."

Azusa was so startled by the news that she almost dropped her drink. "W-What? Are you serious?"

"W-Weekly?" Mio stuttered, shocked beyond belief.

Shannon nodded her head. "I can tell just by that performance alone that you'll be attracting a lot of customers. I know you girls need the exposure. It might be a good thing for you to start practicing more and thinking about producing a demo CD. You could sell them and other stuff like band shirts too. Don't worry, I won't be expecting a cut from your sales if you do decide to do it."

"Alright!" Ritsu pumped her glass into the air, ignoring the cries of her nearest friends when some of her drink splashed them. "We're making progress!"

Yui bounced in her seat. "A CD! We have to start recording!"

"Practice first!" Azusa chided her senpai. "We need lots of it before we even start to think about recording."

"I can work on the memorabilia!" Mugi exclaimed excitedly. "Sawa-chan would probably want to handle the shirts though," she thoughtfully added with a smile towards their mentor. "It's great that we're going to be playing regular gigs now though."

While the band members and their friends chattered excitedly about the news and their future plans, Terry watched on in amusement. Their happiness was catching and she couldn't help but feel happy as well. Perhaps the alcohol was helping her along, but she was genuinely feeling good about the situation. Shannon was particularly happy at the prospect of a new act that could bring in some hefty profit. She and Sawako were talking about their classes when Shannon suddenly disappeared and reappeared on the stage a few moments later.

"I hope everyone is enjoying themselves!" Shannon announced as she playfully bowed to her very happy clientele. "How about some applause for Houkago Tea Time?" She clapped along with the audience. "You could catch them again next week! They'll be a regular act from now on in this live house!" She grabbed the microphone off its stand and stood aside as the tech team prepared the stage. "We have a change in schedule for this night. I know that open mic is usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we've got a number of people requesting for it to happen." She grinned as the members of the audience began to egg their friends to take to the stage. "Anyone who wants to have a go with the band just has to come up on stage and tell them what they want to sing. Any volunteers then?" She helped a young lady up to the stage and had the band help her out in choosing a song she could sing.

"Shannon-san! Why don't you sing for us?" Someone shouted from within the audience.

"Sorry guys! It's a rule that the owner can't steal the show!" Shannon then headed back to the couch and sat down. "Phew! Good thing I'm usually able to escape that."

Mugi leaned over to have a better look at the owner. "Why don't you want to sing? I'm sure that you have a splendid voice!"

Terry bit back a laugh, which Shannon noticed. "She isn't as good a singer as you think," she informed the younger women in their group. "She would probably send all the customers running out of here if she even tried to sing." She laughed and evaded all the slaps and punches Shannon aimed at her. "She can't even sing a nursery rhyme well enough," she joked.

Shannon was getting drunker by the minute and the alcohol in her system wasn't exactly helping as she dealt with a teasing friend. Strangely enough, the spiky-haired woman stopped retaliating and simply left them.

"Maybe you went a little bit too far?" Yui asked, looking a bit worried.

"She looked angry," Ritsu observed.

Terry merely shook her head. "Nah, she may be a little annoyed, but I doubt she's angry. We've bickered about worse things than this." She thanked Sawako who pushed a glass of orange juice towards her. "No more alcohol for me. I'd like to get home safe." She and the girls laughed. They watched a few more customers sing with the band on stage then settled down comfortably as they besieged Terry with questions about her life in America. While Sawako simply smiled, the college students were all tickled when they found out that the auburn-haired woman before them was a computer programmer who also liked to surf. The smiles kept going as they also found out that Terry was thoroughly enjoying her stay in Japan particularly the food and the culture.

"So Terry-san, aren't you homesick? Do you keep in touch with your family while-" Mugi couldn't finish her sentence as a familiar and drunken voice shouted into the microphone.

"Hello again everyone!" Shannon boisterously greeted the crowd once more. "Before we let the next band perform, we could perhaps have another open mic performance! Now, if we all show our appreciation, we could get a certain friend of mine to come up on stage and give us a little show." She threw a wicked grin over at Terry and the rest of the group. "Let's hear it for Terry Quinn!"

"No way!" Terry muttered darkly under her breath as the audience began to cheer and chant her name.

"Come on now! Don't be shy!" Shannon called.

"I'll pass," Terry loudly replied much to the dismay of her friend and the audience.

"Hmmm… playing hard to get huh?" Shannon tapped her finger against the microphone and showed an evil grin. "Alright then!" she decided suddenly. "Either Terry will sing us a song or I'll hand out her cellphone number to any of the interested young men in the house!"

Terry's emerald green eyes widened. "You wouldn't!" she mouthed to Shannon who merely stuck her tongue out at her. Her friend was obviously getting her revenge.

"Ohhh! It looks like many of you would prefer Terry's number!" Shannon giddily announced, pulling out her cellphone. "Well, that's okay then! So Terry's number is-"

"Alright!" Terry roared as she got to her feet and strode up to the stage. "Just one song, alright?" she growled at her very happy friend. She tried to ignore all the admiring looks she was getting from the audience.

Shannon gave her thumbs-up. "So will you sing with the band and what song?"

Terry shook her head and pointed at a Yamaha FG series acoustic guitar on its stand. "I'll go acoustic. It's simpler," she explained to Shannon and the audience who kept cheering as Terry borrowed the said guitar and dragged a stool over to sit on. She strummed the guitar a few times as one of the tech team arranged a microphone close to the sound hole and another one for her to sing in. "This is a one-time performance," she informed the audience.

"Any requests though?" Shannon asked, covering one ear as the audience raucously called out song names. "Well, that's predicament!" she remarked. "Since we've been having mostly upbeat songs, how about we go with a slow one? A romantic song?" She grinned at the scowling redhead. "What about it Terry? How about playing us one of your favorite romantic songs?"

Terry scowled even harder though it softened when she saw the encouraging looks she was getting from Sawako, the Houkago Tea Time members and their friends. "Would you mind if I sang one in English?" she asked the audience who immediately agreed. Positioning her fingers along the designated frets, she plucked the opening riff as a sound test. "I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with this one, but it's always been a song I've kept close to my heart." She plucked out the same mellow opening riff.

Yui elbowed Mio as Terry continued the intro. "Do you know what song it is?"

Mio shook her head. "It sounds familiar, but I'm not too sure."

"Sawa-chan looks like she knows it!" Ritsu exclaimed, eying their mentor who had a mix of surprise and pleasure on her face. "Sa…wa…chan!" The drummer waved a hand in front of their former teacher's face. "Hello! Are you in there?"

"Hmmm?" Sawako blinked. "Oh sorry, I was just surprised by her choice of song. I'm more surprised with her skill on the guitar. I had the notion that she hasn't played in a long time, but she doesn't seem rusty at all."

Mugi thoughtfully tapped her chin. "So do you know the song she's playing?"

Before Sawako could answer that question, she was taken aback by the deep, melodious and somewhat husky voice produced by Terry. She knew just by the sound of her voice that Terry probably never made much use of her singing voice, but it was… astounding… beautiful and so raw. She could also guess that Terry probably didn't acknowledge the talent as well.

The auburn-haired woman looked at home holding a guitar in her hands and her voice had already done its work by entrancing the audience. Many of the customers including Sawako and the Houkago Tea Time members literally felt shivers as Terry crooned into the microphone. The redhead seemed oblivious to the reactions she was causing. She just continued to sing the song:

_And even though the moment passed me by__  
__I still can't turn away__  
__Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose__  
__Got tossed along the way__  
__And letters that you never meant to send__  
__Get lost or thrown away_

_And now we're grown up orphans__  
__That never knew their names__  
__We don't belong to no one__  
__That's a shame__  
__But if you could hide beside me__  
__Maybe for a while__  
__And I won't tell no one your name_

_And I won't tell 'em your name_

_Scars are souvenirs you never lose__  
__The past is never far__  
__Did you lose yourself somewhere out there__  
__Did you get to be a star__  
__And don't it make you sad to know that life__  
__Is more than who we are_

_You grew up way too fast__  
__And now there's nothing to believe__  
__And reruns all become our history__  
__A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio__  
__And I won't tell no one your name__  
__And I won't tell 'em your name_

Terry went on to play the lengthy instrumental riff that led to the last verse of the song. As her fingers flew across the frets, she couldn't help but feel a hint of nostalgia wash over her. It wasn't so long ago that she felt so calm and free whenever she was playing music. Her emerald green eyes roved across the audience as she went into singing the last few lines of the famous song. 

_I think about you all the time__  
__But I don't need the same__  
__It's lonely where you are come back down__  
__And I won't tell 'em your name…_

For a few seconds, everything was so quiet, the only sounds you could hear was the sound of ice clinking against glasses. Then instantaneously the audience raised their hands in the air and gave Terry a hearty applause and rousing cheer. Terry smiled uncomfortably as she thanked the audience then returned to her seat. As soon as she sat down, she was once again besieged with compliments and questions. By the time Shannon returned to them, Terry was very flustered and turning red in embarrassment.

"Okay! Calm down everyone! I think Terry needs a break!" the owner announced for the benefit of her friend. She patted Terry's shoulder and took over in answering the so far unanswered questions.

"What was that song you sang?" Yui demanded, looking admiringly at the older woman.

Sawako was the one who answered instead. "Name by the Goo Goo Dolls."

"Ohhhh…." The college students all chorused upon hearing the popular alternative rock band. Even Yui who was the least knowledgeable about foreign bands had heard of them.

"What has me wondering is why you are so good with playing the guitar," Sawako wondered aloud, eying the redhead who was trying to avoid their gazes.

"It's just a hobby," Terry muttered.

"I don't believe that," Azusa finally spoke up, garnering the full attention of her friends. "I thought that you looked familiar and it was only when I saw you holding and playing a guitar that I realized who you were." The petite rhythm guitarist raised her eyebrows at Terry. "Although if my memory serves me correctly, it's usually a bass guitar in your hands," she added.

Sawako and the rest of the college students gaped at Azusa then at Shannon and Terry. It was Shannon who finally sighed and put her hands up in defeat. "I told you that someone would eventually recognize you. It doesn't matter that you've been disbanded for over four years now," she told the still silent redhead.

"Disbanded?" Mio queried, still clueless at who Terry really was.

"So she's part of a band?" Ritsu followed up with a question of her own.

"Not just any band," Azusa replied, looking expectantly at Terry. She then looked at Mio and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm quite sure that I saw their CD in your collection Mio-senpai. I figured that you would be a fan of the famous Flame Bassist."

Mio's jaw dropped at the nickname. "Y-You're the Flame Bassist?" she stuttered, pointing a shaking finger at the scowling Terry. She suddenly got to her feet and seemed like she was just about ready to pass out. "Oh my God! You're that Terry Quinn from Crimson Skies!" she shouted much too loudly.

Sawako immediately grabbed hold of Mio and had her sit down once more. "Not too loud, Mio-chan! I don't think Terry really wants people to know that she's famous."

"_Was_ famous," Terry corrected, finally speaking. She shook her head ruefully at Shannon. "I guess I was wrong, Shannon. It didn't take long for someone to recognize me." She pressed her fingers against her forehead and released a long breath. "So there you have it. I _am_ the Terry Quinn of Crimson Skies."

Yui gazed pointedly at Terry as if she was trying to get an answer just by looking. "What's Crimson Skies?" Mio and Azusa groaned simultaneously.

"You can't expect everyone to know," Sawako defended the lead guitarist. "Honestly, I haven't really been keeping up with the foreign music acts at all so I myself don't recall if I've heard of the band."

Azusa took over the explanation. "Crimson Skies was a popular college band that quickly rose up the ranks. They were classified as an alternative rock band, but could easily shift into pop rock, blues and jazz. In other words, they were quite versatile and good at fusing various genres of music. What made them famous were their rock related compositions. They were quickly signed by a big record label and produced two chart-hitting albums, which were quite popular in America and Europe."

Shannon nodded her head in agreement. "You're pretty knowledgeable about their background."

Azusa blushed. "Well, my parents were actually fans of theirs and I did my research."

"So what happened? Why did they disband?" Ritsu asked.

"Well, from what I know, the members of the band had no intention of dropping out of college and their work as a band certainly affected their academics. I think there were also some personal issues, but the main reason they disbanded was so that they could get back to their studies."

Shannon shook her head ruefully. "Well, that's part of the truth," she informed the group.

"There's more?" Sawako looked surprised.

Shannon looked at Terry for permission and when she got it, she explained, "Well, you were right that the band got sidetracked because of their band career. Their academics certainly suffered. If I'm not mistaken, all of you failed a number of subjects right?"

"Justine failed all her subjects that one semester," Terry remembered.

"While most up and coming bands would jump at the chance to make it big in the music industry, Terry and her friends all prioritized their education. Their group was rather realistic. They knew that a career in music isn't exactly long term so they wanted to make sure they had a stable career and future first." Shannon paused for a moment to drink. "So that's what happened. The record label didn't release them, but made it look like that they were going on an extended hiatus. Truthfully though, the band wasn't sure if they were going to pick up their instruments again after finishing college and setting up their own careers." She paused and looked hesitant.

Terry nodded her head to give her consent. "You might as well say it. Besides, what's done is done. It's all in the past." Her green eyes seemed to darken upon saying that.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Shannon hesitated for another moment then continued. "Well, there were also personal issues as Azusa-chan mentioned. There's always been a dark side to the music scene after all. All that touring and the money they earned made them a bit careless."

"Drugs?" Sawako guessed, knowing that it was probably the most logical answer.

Shannon nodded and sipped her drink to wet her drying mouth. "I'm not exactly sure of the extent though."

"Ecstasy, cocaine and heroin," Terry dictated dispassionately. "Add the frequent alcohol binging and all the one-night stands and you got the perfect recipe for disaster."

"Were you involved in that latter one though?" Shannon asked. "Miles said that you always warded off the groupies who frequently hit on you."

Terry nodded. "I wasn't about to have sex with anyone," she disdainfully said. "I will admit that I was guilty of the alcohol binging and the drugs though. The other three did everything else."

The Houkago Tea Time girls and their friends all stared in shock at how frank Terry was being with them. "Those things… really happen, huh?" Yui softly remarked, grasping her hands together.

Shannon grimly smiled. "Well, it's all in the past as Terry said. She and her former band mates are all sober and clean. As you've all noticed, Terry has developed an aversion towards alcohol. She drinks once in a while, but she's never drank more than a couple of drinks ever since then."

"That's great to hear!" Mugi pointed out with a warm smile directed at Terry who returned it. "We all know that there's always been a dark side to the music scene, but we're doing everything we can to stay true to ourselves and stay out of trouble."

"Good. Stay that way," Terry said with approval. She rubbed her aching temples. "Anyway, I would appreciate it if you don't go around telling everyone who I was. I don't really care much for attention and fame these days."

"Promise girls," Sawako ordered the college students who voiced out their agreement and gave their word. She looked at her watched and saw that it was nearly two in the morning. "I think it's time for us to head home." She looked at Nodoka, Ui and Jun. "Are you girls commuting back to your homes?"

Nodoka shook her head. "Yui invited us to stay the night at their apartment. Ui and I will head back to Tokyo tomorrow afternoon."

"Same here, but I'm riding back to Osaka on the train," Jun added.

While Yui, the band and the rest of their friends went to help out in collecting their things, Sawako stayed behind with Shannon and Terry. "I just want to thank you for opening up to them. It's a good lesson for them."

Terry smiled. "Better for them to know how fucked up life in the music scene can be from someone who experienced it firsthand," she agreed. Their eyes locked with each other for a long moment before Sawako finally broke their gaze.

"I loved your performance though," Sawako suddenly blurted out.

"Thanks. I'm flattered since it's coming from you."

"Terry-san! It might not be a good idea to get friendly with Sawa-chan!" Ritsu wickedly called to them. "There are certain things you should know about her," she snickered, ignoring the fierce look Sawako was shooting at her.

"Really? It can't be as bad as what you just heard about me," Terry said undoubtedly.

"You should ask about Catherine!" Ritsu continued, ignoring the frantic and scared looks her friends were giving her.

"Catherine?" Terry exchanged strange looks with Shannon. "Who's that?"

"Sawa-chan of course!"

"Huh?"

"She's the wild, demented and rebellious half of Sawa-"

"_SHUT UP YOU LITTLE MORONS! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU AND BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU WITH THIS GUITAR!"_ She suddenly reverted to her 'normal' persona and looked momentarily confused at what just happened. She didn't even realize how fast she must have moved, because she had an electric guitar in her hands raised above her head ready to strike. "Eh? Oh my God! No!" she wailed, dropping to her knees to join the cowed and kneeling college students before her. "I can't believe you made me do that!"

"S-Sawa-chan," Ritsu stammered, sweat clearly streaming down her face. "T-That was scarier than usual."

Amidst the scared whimpers and humiliated wails of Sawako, they heard the clear laughter coming from Terry's mouth. Her teeth flashed against her skin as she heaved in breaths while she struggled against her laughter.

Sawako covered her face with her hands and felt herself heating up in embarrassment. She couldn't believe she lost control right in front of these two women and the remaining customers who just happened to be close enough to witness the spectacle.

"Catherine, huh?" Terry rasped out after getting some semblance of control of herself. She grinned and shook her head while Shannon went to the witnesses to cover up the spectacle. "Sawako, I haven't laughed like that in ages." She got to her feet and squatted down next to the humiliated woman. "Was Catherine your stage name and persona?"

"Yes…" Sawako softly replied.

"Why are you ashamed? I personally find it interesting." Her emerald green eyes twinkled in amusement. "Don't feel embarrassed and don't hold it against your student for coaxing it out." She helped Sawako to her feet and gently patted the shorter woman's head. "If it makes you feel better, I have a soft spot for those rare people who have that hidden wild and rebellious side to them."

Sawako sniffled, but felt better anyway. She hasn't heard anyone honestly admit that they liked her Catherine persona. Almost always, she scared them off and it put a toll on her love life. It was only when she was her gentle and elegant self that she attracted suitors. "Thanks Terry," she murmured gratefully.

"If you have some free time, I'd like to hear about it some more," Terry said, gathering the shorter woman in her arms and briefly hugging her. "That would make it a fair trade right?"

Sawako smiled brightly up at the redhead. "Yes it would. Can we exchange numbers?" She and Terry quickly gave each other their cellphone numbers then turned to the task of bidding everyone goodbye. Sawako gave one last wave to Terry and Shannon who were going to stick around a bit longer then exited the live house with her students.

"Developing a soft spot for them?" Shannon asked, taking a seat on the very empty couch.

Terry shrugged. "They're a good bunch and I haven't made many friends here since I arrived in this country."

Shannon smiled. She was glad that Terry was indeed making new friends. Changing the subject, she asked, "Do you think they suspect anything else?"

Terry shook her head. "I don't think so."

"They'll eventually find out anyway especially when _they _come over."

"That won't be for a while longer though," Terry replied, settling in beside her friend.

"Admit it, you're pleased that someone actually recognized you and liked the music you and the others made."

Terry grunted in reply, not willing to make that admission. Still, she silently accepted that she was a little pleased that she actually had fans who appreciated the work she did four years back.

"Sawako has become your favorite, huh?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I haven't seen you get that friendly with someone relatively new."

"She's interesting and I'm curious about her band days."

Shannon laughed. "I'm curious as well. Think Miles and the others will like her?"

"I'm sure. They'll probably end up liking the Houkago girls as well," Terry guessed. "They're a very likable group anyway." Looking at the time, Terry got to her feet. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to head home. I promised Miles that we'd have a video conference to discuss some business matters from back home."

Shannon nodded and hugged the tall redhead. "Tell that cousin of mine I said hi, okay?" She pulled away and walked Terry to the exit. "I can practically see you becoming another mentor for those girls."

"Really?"

"Face it, you've always had a knack for helping people out."

Terry looked up at the dark skies and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Perhaps you're right. I don't mind though. I find mentoring quite soothing." 


	3. Jam Session

_Chapter 3: "Jam Session"_

Summer was approaching, but the weather didn't give any indication that the season was transitioning into another one. People were surprised with a sudden slew of cold weather and bitter winds, which upped the cold factor. It was a dark and overcast day with people on the streets donning clothing to protect them from the cold. One tall figure with her unique auburn hair stood out in the masses of people heading off to work or to school. Green eyes sleepily gazed at her surroundings as she stuffed her bare hands into her the pockets of her black tweed coat. To shield herself from the bitter winds, she wrapped a dark gray and blue striped scarf around her neck. Terry had nothing against cold weather despite growing up in the almost always sunny California. She only hoped that her immune system was strong enough to prevent any impending colds. By the time she entered her classroom, she wasn't ashamed to let out a sigh of relief upon feeling the artificial heat generated by the building's heating system.

"Ohayo Terry-san! Pretty cold today, huh?" A bespectacled and rather lanky young man greeted her from his seat.

"Abnormally cold," Terry specified, dropping her things beside her chair and taking a seat next to him. "It's almost June for crying out loud." She sighed as she unwound her scarf and stuffed it into her coat pocket. Inside the heated room, she could manage just wearing a navy colored solid Audrey sweater from Nautica, jeans and this time around a comfortable but stylish pair of DC high top sneakers.

The young man smiled. "It rains in June. The hot summer you're thinking about won't start until July." Like the American woman, he was also in the degree program of Music Production and Sound Engineering though this was his first degree. He and Terry became fast friends when they first sat next to each other on the first day of class. He was seven years younger than her, but found it easy to talk to Terry despite her being the only foreign student in the class. "Missing the California weather?"

Terry sighed at the mention of her home's warm weather. She was starting to feel a little homesick. "You're making me feel homesick, Haru-kun," she accused the young man who chuckled at her in reply. "How'd you do with your mini-project?"

"I'm not so sure if it sounds right," Haru confided in her. He took out his laptop and started it up. "I'm not used to this Ableton Live program we're using. Aren't you having a hard time learning how to use it?" He loaded the track he created using the program and increased the volume so that he and Terry could listen to it. The week before their Basic Audio Production professor assigned them to create a minute long track using at least five of the features and effects.

Terry shook her head. "Not really. When they handed out our laptops and the software we'd be using, I took a few nights to explore and familiarize myself with the program. It helped to research a bit on it too so I'm pretty comfortable with it now." She paused for a while to listen to Haru's creation. "It sounds well enough although there were a couple of times your percussion went offbeat." She smiled encouragingly at Haru who groaned at the news. "We still have a good twenty minutes before classes start. Why not try editing it? I'll give you a hand." It took less than five minutes for both friends to correct the minor mistakes in the track and took another few minutes to burn the track into a blank CD. Haru was in the process of placing the CD into its case when the professor and the rest of their class trooped into the room.

"Brrr! I hate this cold weather!" their professor complained as he set his things on the table and turned on his laptop. "Anyway, everyone get settled and pass your mini-projects to the front. I'll be going through all of them for the first part of the class and while I'm doing that, I'd like you to read up on compression, which we'll be discussing in detail later on."

The rest of the day went by quickly and Terry soon found herself on the train going back to her condominium. The building was sleek, shiny and a high riser in the field of condominiums with forty-eight floors. While the lower floor mostly contained simpler and smaller living spaces, Terry's flat was located on the 31st floor and was certainly spacious. Even for a well-to-do individual, the space of her flat was enough to house a family of four to five people. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully-furnished kitchen, dining room, living room and an entertainment room, which she converted into a small music studio with the permission of management. Despite the kitchen, Terry rarely cooked. It was probably better to say that she was terrible at the task. Just like in college, her main choice of food had usually been take-out or eat-out.

It was close to dinner and she had no intention of heading out to get herself some food. After discarding her bag of things, her coat and scarf, the redhead walked over to her refrigerator and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that she still had a box set of sushi she had bought from the grocery. As she settled down to eat, Terry once again thought of how much she had grown to love Japanese food since she had arrived. Sure Japanese cuisine was readily available in California, but she still found the food from its motherland better tasting and more fulfilling. After cleaning up, Terry headed into her small music studio. On one side of the slightly cramped room, her digital mixer and recorder lined the wall. She also had three amps of varying sizes stacked in one corner, microphones, microphone stands, plus her small collection of musical instruments. A band of four could fit in the small room with all their equipment with only few complaints of it being cramped.

People would be tickled pink to see the variety of instruments Terry had in that small studio. Aside from her Gibson Thunderbird IV bass guitar, she had an Ibanez Artwood Acoustic guitar, a couple of egg shakers and tambourines, a saxophone and instead of a full drum set, she had a cajón or box drum. Shannon had often teased her that it was mighty lonely to be playing alone in such a nice studio. Terry didn't really think much of it even though she spent two years practically living in a studio while Crimson Skies was still together.

Grabbing her bass guitar, she plugged it into a nearby amp and started playing a random tune. Plucking and strumming the thick strings and feeling its unmistakable thrum travel through her fingers, up her arms and into her body always had a soothing effect on her. She absently played for half an hour then left the studio. Glancing at her watch, she entered her bedroom and set up her laptop. She knew it was around two in the morning back in California, but she was quite sure that Miles was still up. Using Skype, she placed a call to her best friend who picked up after a couple of rings.

"_Yo! Did you just get home from school?"_

Aside from a good view of Miles handsome face, she could see that Miles was in his messy bedroom with his laptop placed in front of him on the bed. "Almost two hours ago actually," Terry replied with a smile. "Clean up your room for crying out loud! It looks like it's been like that since I left!"

Miles feigned a look of hurt on his face. _"A man hardly cares about the looks and tidiness of his dwelling,"_ he announced mockingly.

"I'm sure other men feel the same way, but I doubt Kate would actually like going into that dump of a room of yours," Terry said mercilessly, smiling inwardly at the way Miles flinched. "How have the two of you been doing anyway? Still going strong?"

Miles chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. _"We've been going strong for three years now,"_ he proudly reminded her. _"I am thinking about popping the question soon though."_

"You've always said that," Terry remarked with a shake of her head. For the better part of the year, Miles had frequently mentioned how he wanted to propose to his girlfriend. He kept saying that maybe they should be engaged for a year or so first before officially tying the knot. Terry on the other hand didn't really care. "I say just ask her then marry her right away! She's a good woman and I love her cooking!"

Miles made a face. _"You've gotten too used to being cared for by Kate. Sure I know it's part of her nature to be so caring since she grew up in the Philippines, but seriously I'm the boyfriend!"_

"If you keep procrastinating, I'm going to propose to her myself," Terry retorted, mischief playing in her green eyes. "I'd give anything to have her cook that special sour soup for me every day!" Just the thought of Miles' girlfriend's cooking made her mouth water.

"_Do I have to remind you that you're straight?"_

Terry shrugged. "Things could change right?" she joked. "I suppose it's correct to say that I'm currently straight. Besides, I haven't been in the dating game since our sophomore year in college. I'm not in a hurry in any case." She then went serious and changed the topic. "How's business?" she asked.

Miles smiled in reply. _"We're doing really well if you're worried. We just released the latest version of the Crimson Score program. Sales are increasing and we've just got a major deal offered to us. One of the smaller music colleges wants to buy the program in bulk for the use of their students."_

The redhead laughed happily. That was indeed good news. "You can handle that on your own," she said. "I doubt you need my help in closing that deal." She drummed her fingers against her laptop. "Have you been in contact with Justine and Kelly?"

Miles nodded his head. _"Justine is somewhere in Europe right now. Another modeling job from what I know." _He smirked, giving away what he was really thinking.

"She's not enjoying herself, huh?" Terry chuckled. Among their closest friends, they knew that despite Justine's beauty and her job, she was a very laidback person. She so was so laidback that she was barely interested in the prospect of traveling around the world due to her job. Terry described her as a homebody and often compared her to that of a hibernating bear. Their model friend loved to sleep and would make hell if someone disturbed her. Other than that, Justine was friendly enough and her skill on the drums was something to admire. "How about Kelly?"

"_Kelly's getting ready to resign from that clinic he's working at. He's just about earned enough money to start his own clinic. I have no doubt that he'll have lots of clients. I can imagine the line of women of all ages trying to get themselves treated by him." _

"You can certainly see why the 'physical' in physical therapist suits him," Terry replied with a grin. She saw Miles yawn. "Anyway, I'll give you another call in a few days. I'd like to know what happens to that deal we have with that music college."

"_Sure,"_ Miles easily agreed and was just about to sign off, but added, _"You're making friends?"_

Terry smiled. "I am. You don't have to worry about me. Tell Kate I said hi and that I miss her!"

"_Miss her or miss her cooking?"_

"Shut up! Night!"

* * *

They got their first real break of hot weather during the first week of July. While Terry welcomed the heat, others did not appreciate it as much as she did. The humidity was obviously the main reason why people disliked the weather. People tried to walk leisurely as to not tire themselves out and sweat as they went on their way. Terry on the other hand was used to the heat and even whistled a tune as she made her way to a grocery store. She was of course going on that errand to buy mostly toiletries and some instant food since she hardly had any talent when it came to cooking.

It took her a good fifteen minutes to gather the needed items and by the time she finished paying for it, someone had tapped her from behind on the shoulder. The tall auburn-haired woman looked back to see the ever cheerful Yui and Azusa sporting their own set of grocery bags. "Oh hi Yui-chan and Azusa-chan!"

Yui kept grinning up at the green-eyed woman while Azusa politely bowed and returned the greeting. "It's good to see you again, Terry-san."

"How have you and the other girls doing?"

"Doing really well!" Yui replied. "We've been practicing!"

"Has Shannon been treating you well?"

Azusa nodded. "She treats us well, Terry-san," she honestly replied. "Although it tends to get troublesome when she has too much to drink," she added.

Terry laughed at that. "Now you know how I feel. Are you playing to a full house though?"

"Very full!" Yui answered happily. "Gray-san was right when she said that we'd be attracting a lot of customers. We noticed that there are mostly men who come to watch, but there are quite a number of women who come too."

"They mostly come because of Mio-senpai though," Azusa pointed out with a smirk. "For some reason, members of her fan club are always represented during any of our performances." They all chuckled.

"You went grocery shopping?" Yui asked, sliding over to Terry's side to look into her grocery bags.

Azusa sighed and was about to pull Yui back when she saw the things Terry bought. She could only furrow her eyebrows and force herself not to laugh. One bag was filled with instant noodles while the other had necessary things like toothpaste, soap and the like.

"Terry-san… you don't cook do you?" Yui asked, watching as Terry slightly turned red.

"Errr… I don't," the redhead replied. "My success rate when it comes to cooking is virtually zero and it's much easier to deal with instant food." She shrugged her broad shoulders. "I just have to add hot water."

"It's not exactly healthy though," Azusa pointed out with a sheepish smile.

Yui suddenly clapped her hands together. "I know! Why don't you come over to our apartment?"

"Now?" Terry's emerald green eyes widened at the suggestion.

The lead guitarist eagerly nodded her head. "Yeah! It's Mio and Ritsu's turn to cook and they're the best in cooking among us."

"I'd rather not impose myself on all of you," Terry began with uncertainty. It didn't seem proper to go to an acquaintance's home just to get a good meal.

"You won't be imposing! Come on!" Yui begged the older woman, her dark brown eyes pleading as well.

Azusa just smiled. "I'm sure the others would love to have you over. Mio in particular has been wanting you to sign her copy of your first Crimson Skies album."

Terry sighed in defeat. "I suppose I could come along," she decided, controlling a grin when Yui latched onto her arm and began towing her down the street. The smaller Azusa brought up the rear and kept warning Yui to not pull too hard and to watch where she was going. "Has she always been this… energetic?"

"You have no idea!" Azusa laughed. "But she's always been an extreme girl," she explained. "Take one time back in high school, she failed one of her exams and wouldn't be allowed to participate in club activities if she didn't pass the make-up exam. She had a last minute cram session with Mio and my other senpais the night before the retake and she ended up scoring a hundred percent!"

"Really? You sure are an extreme girl," Terry told Yui who grinned up at her.

"Ui-chan and Nodoka-chan always say that I can do anything once I focus on it!" Several minutes later, they reached the modest apartment building shared by the band. "Ohhh! I can already smell the food they're cooking!" Yui exclaimed, unlocking the door and tugging Terry inside their domain. "We're back!"

"What took you so long?" Ritsu demanded without turning away from her task of chopping the vegetables. "You should have gotten here ten minutes ago!"

"Ritsu, it's okay. You'll get to eat soon enough!" Mio flipped her hair back over her shoulder and turned to greet her newly arrived friends. "Eh?" she blinked at the extra person who stood between Azusa and Yui.

Terry smiled at the shocked Mio. "Sorry for intruding, but Yui-chan was very persistent." She controlled herself from laughing out loud as the young bassist grabbed hold of the groceries in Yui and Azusa's hands and did a mad scramble in the kitchen. "Uhhh… there's really no hurry," she tried to assure the scrambling bassist, who was quickly preparing the ingredients.

"Ohhhh! Seriously Yui-chan! You should give us the heads-up when you're going to bring a guest over!" Mio complained, checking if the rice was almost done cooking.

"An esteemed guest specifically," Ritsu added, standing aside and letting Mio do all the work. "Now look what you've done! She's already taken over!" She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I don't have anything against it since I won't need to work anymore." She and Mugi urged Terry to sit with them at their table. "So Yui invited you to have dinner with us?"

"More liked coerced her to," Azusa clarified, squeaking when Yui jumped and proceeded to squeeze the breath out of her. "Yui-senpai! Please! I can't breathe!" The blue-haired kohai wheezed and struggled to disengage Yui's arms around her.

"Azu-nyan! You make me sound evil! I just felt sorry for Terry-san since she always eats instant food! I just thought it would be nice for her to have a decent meal with us!" Yui rubbed her cheek against Azusa's who was blushing so much in embarrassment.

Mugi looked sympathetic towards Azusa and Terry who was most likely feeling very awkward. "Yui-chan, I think Azusa-chan has had enough and I don't think Terry-san appreciates your opinion about her choice of food." Her eyes widened when Yui looked like she was just about to cry.

Terry swooped in to prevent any tears from shedding. "Honestly, I'm grateful for your invitation," she quickly and sincerely told the lead guitarist. "I am a little embarrassed that you figured out my eating habits, but there's no harm done. I'm looking forward to a home-cooked meal." She flashed a reassuring smile at the sniffling Yui.

"Terry-san! You're so nice!" Yui promptly beamed up at the older woman and on impulse hugged the taller woman.

"Yui!" Mio, Mugi, Ritsu and Azusa chorused in shock.

The former bassist bit back a laugh and hugged the younger woman back. "You're quite affectionate," she remarked after Yui drew away.

"You think?" Azusa muttered under her breath. She gave a grateful sigh as Mugi took over and passed around steaming cups of tea. "Mugi-senpai, this is exactly what I need!"

"I'd have to agree with that," Terry said. They had a couple of rounds of tea until Mio bustled in from the kitchen and started setting bowls of ramen in front each person. "Ahhh! I haven't had the chance to try any ramen since I started studying here."

"Itadakimasu!" The Houkago Tea Time members chorused and dug into their food.

Realizing that she was quite hungry, Terry made quick work of her ramen and even ate two of the rather large onigiri made by Mio. She had to assure the easily embarrassed bassist that she liked the upsized onigiri a lot. "Large hands and long fingers are a blessing to bassists after all," she explained, holding up a long-fingered and large hand for them to see.

Yui once again couldn't help herself and grabbed each of Mio and Terry's hands. Oblivious to the somewhat surprised look on Terry's face and the deeply reddening face of Mio, Yui pressed their hands together in an attempt to compare. "Woahhh! Mio-chan, your hands are smaller!" she observed.

"O-Of course!" Mio stuttered back. "Terry san is taller than I am so her appendages would be bigger as well!" Against Terry's hand, hers was nearly two inches shorter. She did feel slightly envious with the size of the redhead's hands. It must have made playing the bass guitar easier. At the same time, it was somewhat nice to know someone who had bigger hands than her. Ritsu would often tease her for having 'man hands' and it wasn't exactly a compliment.

"Teased a lot because of the size of your hands?" Terry asked, gently smiling at the younger bassist.

Mio nodded. "I don't mind having them, but it gets bothersome when people-" she shot a glare at Ritsu. "-tease me about it."

"It's definitely more advantageous to have bigger hands," Terry remarked.

"Really?" Mio asked.

"Really." Terry squeezed Mio's hand reassuringly before letting her go. She gave her thanks to Mugi when she served them another round of tea after the dishes had been cleared from the table. "You're absolutely wonderful, Mugi-chan," she told the keyboardist. "I don't recall the last time I've enjoyed drinking tea like this."

"You don't drink tea much, Terry-san?" Mugi wondered, leaning forward on her elbows.

"I'm a coffee guzzler," the redhead joked with a small laugh. "Well to be honest, I never really drank coffee until I started my own company. I work late hours a few days a week or even more than that depending on the workload and deadlines so coffee became my reliable companion throughout the night."

"What was your life like growing up in California?" Ritsu asked, her interest in America obvious.

"What do you want to know specifically? There's a lot to talk about," Terry replied, willing to answer the younger women's questions about her life.

"Like where did you study? Did you go to a public school?" The drummer leaned closer from across the table.

"Oh well to put it simply, I went to a public school for elementary. It was co-ed of course then I enrolled in a private school for girls for high school then I went to UC Berkley for college," Terry summarized.

"Were you an honor student?" Mio asked this time around.

Terry paused and thought about it. "Well, I usually barely made it to the honor roll throughout my whole education. I never got the highest awards, but that was alright. I studied hard and did my best and that was what mattered."

"Gray-san said that you were very popular back in college," Yui piped up. "She said to us during our last performance at her live house that you and your group of friends were the heart throb team."

Terry chuckled, feeling embarrassed at being reminded of the title Shannon bestowed upon her and her friends. "I suppose we were popular, but I believe it was two of my friends who garnered most of the attention. Miles and I were just dragged along with the whole popularity game. I'd like to think that all of us didn't bother with being popular or not. All that mattered to us were passing our subjects, staying friends and when we became a band, create and perform music to the best of our abilities."

At the first mention of Terry's former band, Azusa quickly raised her hand to ask a question of her own. "How did you and your friends form Crimson Skies anyway?"

The auburn-haired woman rubbed her chin in thought. "It was mostly by accident," she decided after a moment's pause. "Sure, all of us were skilled in playing certain instruments. Miles and Kelly were friends before they knew me and were always trying to outclass each other on the guitar. Kelly started out as a classical guitarist though while Miles just free-styled," she recounted with a soft smile. "Justine learned how to play the drums because her dad used to be drummer for a jazz band."

"How about you?" Mio interrupted. "Did you really start out with the bass?" she asked, looking surprised when Terry shook her head.

"I played saxophone before anything," Terry informed the surprised group.

"Why saxophone?"

"Oh, I was a rebellious kid back then. My mother wanted me to play an instrument that was suited for women. You can guess that she was referring to piano or violin." Terry chuckled upon remembering that particular memory. "She was convinced that I was going to buy myself a violin so she handed me money to purchase the said instrument. She was very angry when I came home with a saxophone instead."

The younger women laughed. "So how did you start playing the bass guitar?" Ritsu asked.

"Miles and Kelly decided to start a band. They had the guitarists and the drummer down, but they didn't have a bassist."

"So they asked you?" The drummer guessed.

"They tried, but of course, I had no experience playing a bass guitar," Terry replied, nodding her head to Mugi who refilled her cup of tea. "I told them that it was okay with me to play saxophone for them, but I didn't want to play fulltime since I was very focused on my studies. For the first few months, they tried looking for a bassist, but that didn't go well. On my twenty-first birthday, they press-ganged me to learn and play the bass when they gifted me with a second hand SDB1 Ibanez bass guitar. I couldn't find it in myself to say no when they did that so I agreed to learn and join the band."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Mugi quoted with a grin, remembering herself how Mio and Ritsu, mostly the latter, tried to convince her to join the Light Music Club during their freshmen year then how they desperately tried to recruit Yui as well.

"Did you have a teacher?" Mio asked.

"Well Miles and Kelly taught me the basics, but everything else, I learned on my own. I bought a lot of manuals and watched a lot of videos to teach myself. Of course, performing was the best learning experience."

"So you also learned how to play the guitar as well?" Azusa remembered that open-mic event when Shannon had forced Terry to play and sing a song.

"Self-taught as well," Terry confirmed. "When we started seriously thinking about making a career in the music industry, we of course had to come up with songs. Unfortunately, none of my three band mates at that time were quite adept at composing so I usually ended up with that task. I composed and arranged most of our songs while the others added their own input." She shook her head before Ritsu could ask her question. "No, I don't know how to play the drums. It was already too much for me to learn."

Ritsu let out a sigh of relief. It would have been very enviable if Terry was also learned on the drums. It was already commendable that the American could play the saxophone, bass guitar and guitar.

"My skill level on the guitar is not as high compared to Miles and Kelly though," Terry admitted. "Saxophone and bass guitar were my fortes though I rarely had an opportunity to play the sax during our band days." She ran her fingers through her tussled auburn hair. "Composing and arranging music became the reason why I started my company. I didn't like the scoring programs available at that time so I started tinkering around and developed my own scoring program."

Ritsu whistled. "You're really smart, Terry-san!"

"Resourceful," Terry supplied the better term. "I was in a computer programming course to begin with and I was already equipped with the right skills to create my own program. I needed additional research, but I managed to pull it off."

"Who's handling your company now since you're here?" Mugi asked.

"Miles is doing that. When we graduated, he decided to become joint partners with me when I expressed my desire to start my own company."

"How about Kelly and Justine? What are they doing now?" Yui wondered aloud, propping her head against her hand.

Chuckling as she watched Azusa lean over and wipe off a smudge of leftover food on Yui's cheek, she replied, "Justine's an international model, a job she's not exactly happy with. Kelly's a licensed physical therapist."

The band collectively let out an impressed sound. They knew that it was rare for former band members to have successful non-music careers after disbanding. "Do you have a picture of your friends, Terry-san?" Yui asked.

Mio excitedly got to her feet. "I have one! Well, it's actually a picture of them in the CD album art." She skipped to her room and came back carrying a black and red CD case. She sat again with her friends at the table and placed the somewhat dusty CD on the table as her band mates all leaned over to get a better look.

"Ooohhh!" Yui breathed out, placing a finger on the case. "What an interesting cover! Is that really you and your friends?"

Terry glanced over and laughed. She remembered how she and her band mates had come to the decision to use that cover for their first album. "Yes it's us. If I remember correctly, there's a more normal picture of us inside the booklet."

Azusa furrowed her eyebrows as she observed the cover closely. "Were all of you really topless?" She had asked the question she and her senpais wondered. The cover had a black background and on it stood four persons with their backs facing the front. On their backs was an interconnecting fiery and flowing serpentine-like creature. The serpent-like tattoo started out at the shoulder of Terry then flowed across her back and onto the backs of Miles then Kelly before ending at Justine's shoulder. The tattoo had been edited; looking like it was shining with bright crimson light.

"Yes we were all topless though it was done reluctantly on my part. The boys thought it was a brilliant idea and Justine didn't really care about how the album art should come out."

"Whoever edited it especially to make that interconnecting tattoo effect must have been good!" Mio remarked, taking the time to fully appreciate and admire the cover art.

"Oh he was good enough, but all he did was make the tattoo pop out," Terry replied, flapping her hand with disinterest.

The five younger women stared at Terry in disbelief. "It's a real tattoo?" they demanded simultaneously.

Terry raised her hands up in defense. "Yes it's a real tattoo. Again, it was Miles and Kelly's idea. Those two jockeyed for leadership position and unfortunately for me and Justine, we didn't really have much of a choice when they decided that we should all get the tattoo done on our backs." She tapped the CD case as she thought. "It's exaggerated when you see it here, but it's just a black serpentine tattoo on our backs."

"Can I see it?" Yui loudly asked and was immediately punched in varying places by Ritsu, Mio and Azusa. "Owww! This is domestic violence!" she complained.

"Who knew that Yui-senpai could use such terms," Azusa drawled, still feeling slight impressed about her senpai's word usage.

"Perhaps another time," Terry told Yui who looked crestfallen after hearing her answer. "I'm not exactly comfortable stripping down in front of you girls." They all grinned at each other. "Anyway, I think I should head home." She got to her feet and stretched her legs. "Thanks for the food though. I really enjoyed it." She directed a grateful smile at Mio in particular who did all of the cooking.

"Terry-san! Why don't you stay for a bit longer? We were going to practice," Yui suggested hopefully.

"Wouldn't I be a distraction?"

Mugi shook her head. "Not at all! We'd like it if someone of your caliber and experience watched us and gives us a few tips too."

"I suppose I could stay for a bit longer," Terry decided, smiling when the Houkago girls reacted happily to her decision. She allowed Yui to tow her to a nearby couch and sat down, reminding herself that she left her grocery bags by the door. "So have you made any plans for the future?"

"Long term or short term?" Azusa asked as she and her band mates set up their instruments.

"Both," Terry answered, leaning against the couch's arm.

"Well, for short term we'd like to try getting steady gigs in other live houses. It's good that we play weekly at Gray-san's, but it would be better if we branched out more." The rhythm guitarist adjusted the volume of her amp and strummed a basic chord, satisfied with its sound.

Mio plucked out a few notes then adjusted the strings' tuning. "As for long term, we're still sticking to our original goal."

"Which is?"

"Budokan!" the Houkago Tea Time members chorused.

"The arena in Tokyo?"

"Not just any arena!" Ritsu pointed out, testing her drum set. "It's _the _arena where the best bands perform!"

"Quite a lofty goal, huh?" Terry looked over the all-girl band and looked deep in thought. "I know that you'll get there as long as you work hard and keep believing. Just remember that the littlest of mistakes or problems can spell out your doom. You know yourselves what happened in my case." She smiled as the young women looked at her soberly. "Don't worry too much though. I can certainly see that all of you are having fun and enjoy each other's company. It gives me enough reason to believe that you'll see your dream through."

Ritsu sighed yearningly. "And if we reach that dream, I wonder what's going to happen next?"

Mugi chuckled. "Why Ritsu! I thought you said that we'd make a new dream! Didn't you say that America would be next?"

"We'll make it there too!" Yui announced with certainty.

"Let's deal with what we have now though," Mio reminded her friends. She was of course the most practical and realistic among them.

Azusa added, "Practice first. We can't achieve our goals if we don't get any better."

"That's true," Terry agreed. "I'm still a little bit surprised that you sound really good in your performances despite the lack of practice." She shook her head. "I told Shannon that it must be the chemistry you girls have with each other."

"Chemistry is a good thing, right?" Yui wondered, sounding a little unsure.

"Oh it works wonders," Terry replied. "Even if a band performs really good music, audiences won't appreciate live performances if they don't jive well with each other on stage. For you girls though, you have no problem at all. You just need more performances, some marketing and a CD release to really get you going." They all grinned at each other. "You're on your way to getting there."

"Can you help us?" Mio asked, hope brimming in her gray eyes.

Terry thought about it. "Right now, the only thing I can do is to listen and give you advice. Since we disbanded, I can't help you with anything else."

"It's alright!" Mugi ran her fingers across her keyboard and checked to see if her friends were ready. "At least we have another person to help us out aside from Sawa-chan! Are we ready?"

"What song?" Ritsu asked, gripping her drumsticks.

"Something we didn't play in our first performance at The Cobalt Loft," Azusa decided. "Terry-san would probably like to hear something different."

Mio nodded her head in agreement. "Yui could sing the first song then." Despite the number of performances they had under their belt, she still felt uncomfortable singing in front of people even though the only audience they had now was just Terry.

"Hmmm… how about 'Cagayake Girls' then?" Yui strummed the first chord of the song. "It's good to start with an upbeat song!"

"Go for it," Terry urged.

"Cagayake Girls then!" Ritsu raised her drumsticks and clapped them together. They went on to play a second song, 'Fude Pen, Boru Pen' then listened attentively to Terry's critique. Ritsu was a little miffed when Terry pointed out that she should make more of an effort to stay in beat as to not confuse her band mates. Mio unsurprisingly turned red when she was told by the former Crimson Skies bassist that she should relax more while performing since she had a tendency to be robotic as she played. For Yui, she told her to try to stay focused since she had the tendency to drift off as she sang or played, which made her guitar playing irregular in terms of beat and sound.

Terry was thinking about what to say to Azusa and Mugi for them to improve on when the door suddenly opened and in walked a familiar bespectacled brunette. "Ah, Terry!" Sawako pushed her glassed up the bridge of her nose as she gaped at the American. "Why are you here?" She deposited a large metal suitcase on the floor next to the couch then greeted her former students.

"Yui and Azusa bumped into me at the grocery and invited me over for a home-cooked meal," Terry explained. "They managed to convince me to stay and watch them practice." She patted the couch and moved over a bit to give more space to Sawako. "How about you? Why did you come by?" She failed to notice that the band was subtly backing away.

Sawako grinned and pointed at her suitcase. "Oh, I brought over new outfits that I made for the girls. They've been wearing the same outfits to their performances and I thought it would be a good idea for them to perform in different outfits for the next one." She flashed her trademark Catherine glare at the escaping band. "I'm not leaving until you wear these outfits I made for all of you! Seriously, you have to start appealing more to your audience not just through your music!"

Terry opened her mouth to explain that looks shouldn't really matter, but she was forced to shut up when Sawako did the same glare at her. "Errr… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to dress up for certain performances," she muttered weakly.

Sawako beamed at her and happily opened her suit case. "Oh you'll love these new outfits! I worked hard for the past few nights to get them ready for today!"

"Iyaaa! I'm not going to where that!" Mio shouted, shaking as Sawako approached.

"But I worked so hard on it plus it covers just the right spots!"

Terry had no idea whether she was going to laugh or go to band's rescue. Still, she had to admit that it was a breath of fresh air seeing Sawako act so unabashedly in front of her. The older woman was always making so much effort in being gentle and elegant when it was this particular personality of her that made her stand out.

"Sawa-chan! No!" Mio screamed. "Don't strip in front of Terry-san!"

A flash of mischief colored Sawako's hazel eyes. "Don't worry Mi-oh-chan!" she pronounced each syllable delicately. "You won't be the only one I'm going to strip down!" She pounced on Mio and proceeded to pull of articles of clothing.

As the girls scrambled to avoid the questing hands of Sawako, Terry finally allowed herself a small laugh and before Sawako could pull of the last few pieces of clothing from Mio's body, she approached her from behind, hooked her arms under Sawako's armpits and effectively held her down. While Sawako twisted her head to look up into Terry's face, the college students all dropped to the floor in relief.

"Terry-san! Arigatou!" Mio sobbed out, sniffling as she pulled on her clothes.

"I didn't realize that she had _this _particular kind of wild side to her," Terry remarked, keeping her hold on Sawako who looked like she had no intention of struggling. "A little perverted?" She shook her head in amusement as all five girls nodded their heads so hard that she was afraid their heads might snap off. The former bassist sighed and looked down at the seemingly dazed brunette. "No perverted things alright?" she ordered in a firm voice. "I know I told you that I have a soft spot for wild types, but I certainly can't watch you harass your students in a perverted manner. Are we clear?"

The Houkago girls all watched astounded when Sawako nodded her head and was released from Terry's hold. It was rare for them to see Sawako actually submit to anyone.

"Hey! Are you okay?" She looked worriedly at the bespectacled woman who was now on her knees and staring at the floor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to… hold you like that," Terry began, quickly thinking of ways to make her apology more sincere. She stopped talking when Sawako whispered. "Huh?"

"Did… I just… do that?" All the women in the room just stared at each other until Sawako pressed her face into her hands and shrieked in utter embarrassment. "Shimmata! I lost it again!" She felt her face heat up. "Why do I keep relapsing? I'm supposed to be the gentle and elegant teacher!"

"Sawako…. Sawako!" Terry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright," she assured her with a smile then pulled her up to her feet. "It just happens I guess. Personally though, I find it hard to see someone trying to be someone that they're not."

"Don't you mean disturbing?" Ritsu muttered, flinching into silence when Mio elbowed her hard.

"Anyway, to put it simply, this experience has left me more amused than anything else." Terry stretched her lithe body as she braced her hands against the small of her back. "Since everyone's feeling a bit awkward about what just happened, how about we do a little jam session?"

"Jam session?" Azusa repeated, unsure of what she meant.

"You know, let's play a song together."

"Like one of our songs?" Yui asked, inching back to her fallen guitar.

Terry shook her head. "That would make it more like one of your practices. Let's play a song made by a different band." She went over to Yui and helped her up, making sure that the guitar in the vocalist's hands didn't fall. "There's this song that my friends and I used to play whenever we were feeling down."

"What song is that?" Mio wondered, curious to know.

"I'm not entirely sure if you know it," Terry began. "Would you happen to know the song 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl'?"

"That's a Jet song!" Azusa excitedly answered.

"Right you are!" Terry laughed at the youngest girl's excitement.

"The song is fairly easy enough to play," the redhead explained, looking around the room. "All we need now is a tambourine."

"I have one in my room!" Mugi ran into her room and came out with one.

"Will you play my bass, Terry-san?" Mio offered her beloved bass guitar up to the redhead.

Terry shook her head. "You can play bass Mio-chan. I don't think I can play a left-handed bass guitar anyway. Even if I tried, my fingers would be too clumsy because of the unfamiliar setup." She then went into a brief tutorial on the repeating bass riffs used throughout the song and once she was satisfied, she turned to teach Yui.

"I'd like to play the tambourine for this one if it's okay," Yui announced, putting her Les Paul guitar in Terry's hands.

"Are you sure?"

Yui nodded eagerly. "I'd like to see you play again, Terry-san."

Terry bowed her head gratefully and took the guitar. "I'll do rhythm if that's okay, Azusa-chan."

"I can just jump in on the keyboard," Mugi informed the group after Terry taught the basic beat to Yui. "Shall we start then?"

"Hold on." Terry walked over to Sawako and smiled. "I know you know the song. I'd really like to hear you sing if that's alright with you. It would be a fair trade since you did hear me sing at the live house." Her vivid emerald green eyes locked with those uncertain hazel ones. "Please?"

Sawako sighed and walked back to the band with Terry. "It's a good thing you picked a song I actually know," she remarked. "Let's go for it then!"

"YOSH!" They all shouted together with the exception of Terry who just grinned.

"Here we go!" Yui started shaking the familiar opening beat of the tambourine. After the first few sets, Mio quickly entered on the bass, plucking out the fast and upbeat riff. Already she was feeling a thrill shoot through her body.

"Ritsu!" Mio signaled, repeating the riff as Ritsu entered the fray.

"Not a problem!" Ritsu shouted with a satisfied grin. As the bass, guitar and tambourine entered the last part of the instrumental intro, Azusa played along with the distinctive twang of her guitar.

"_Go!"_ Sawako shouted as Terry began to play the rhythm section on the borrowed guitar. Immediately, they fell into good rhythm of the upbeat song, repeating the same instrumental intro all together then pausing for a moment to let Sawako sing. _"I said a one, two, three take my hand and come with me because you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine!"_ They started playing again then paused once more. _"I said you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine!" _Sawako flipped her hair back over her shoulders and really got into it. _"Oh four, five, six come on and get your kicks. Now you don't need that money when you look like that, do ya honey?"_

"Great!" Terry said through her grin, amazed at the skill of Sawako as she sang the popular song in her own style. Just from the way she sang, she could already surmise that Sawako had once been a part of a heavy metal band. Her voice was strong, gritty and ever so clear and she certainly showed no strain as she sang the song almost in the same likeness as the Jet vocalist.

"_Big black boots, long brown hair! She's so sweet… with her get back stare!" _Sawako whirled around and grinned at the musicians around her. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. _"Well I could see… you home with me! But you were with another man, yeahhhh! I know we ain't got much to say, before I let you get away, yeahhh!" _ The band paused again and waited for her. _"I said are you gonna be my girl!" _

"YEAH!" The Houkago Tea Time girls whooped all together, eagerly continuing the song.

* * *

A few minutes later, all the women in the room found themselves seated on the cold floor, catching their breaths and drinking cold drinks served by Mugi. Terry sat on the floor and leaned back against the couch not minding at all that Sawako was leaning against her. "Felt good?" she asked no one in particular.

Yui happily nodded. "That was really fun! I can see why you and your old band played it a lot to feel good!" She paused and finished her drink. "What other songs did you play?"

"Hmmm… well aside from that Jet song, we often played for fun Broadway by The Goo Goo Dolls, Innocent by Our Lady Peace," Terry paused for a moment to take a breath. "I think we also played Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional and several others." She grinned and ran her fingers through her slightly sweat-damp hair. "We played those songs to mostly loosen up and have some fun before doing serious practice."

"We should try to make that a habit as well," Mio suggested, putting her bass guitar back on its stand then leaned back against her hands while Ritsu contentedly plopped down and put her head on Mio's lap. "I'm surprised," she told her best friend. "You usually start complaining about being hungry right about now."

Ritsu grinned. "I'll be hungry in a little while. For the moment, I'm quite content staying like this." She wiped the sweat off her sweaty brow and smiled at the ceiling. "Sawa-chan may have her flaws, but her singing is still the best!"

"Ritsu, that compliment isn't going to make me go any easier on you," Sawako warned with an evil smile.

"But Sawa-chan! I was being honest!" Ritsu cried out in fear.

Terry laughed along with the others. "She's right though." She tilted her head down to have a better look at Sawako's face. "You sing really well," she sincerely told the teacher.

Heat instantly suffused her cheeks and she instantly looked down so that Terry wouldn't see her embarrassment. "P-People aren't exactly keen on liking a death metal singer!" she argued unconvincingly.

"Those people are stupid then if they only choose to understand the 'death' and 'metal' in that phrase," Terry replied dispassionately. "It can't be avoided, I guess," she murmured. "There are a few who look at the most important things though." She turned her emerald green eyes at the band before her. "Singing, making and playing music, and friendship," she dictated.

Azusa nodded her head, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Friendship," she repeated, liking the sound of that. "We'll stay friends forever won't we senpais?"

Yui jumped on that perfect moment and proceeded to glomp her favorite kohai. "We'll be friends forever, Azu-nyan!" she proclaimed.

"Forever," Mugi promised, patting Azu-nyan's head with a gentle hand.

"We've been together for this long so there's no reason for us not to continue being friends!" Ritsu grinned impishly from her laying position. Abruptly, she twisted around and wrapped her arms around Mio's waist. "Mioooo! I'll be your best friend forever! I'll never let anyone else have you!"

The bassist blushed at that fervent acclamation, but allowed herself a small smile. "Ritsu… you're being weird." She chuckled and gazed at her closest friends. "But Terry-san is right… our friendship is really important. It's important enough for me to say that I'd do anything for you guys!"

"Mio!" Yui gasped out happily, tugging both Azusa and Mugi towards the best friends. "I'll do anything for you too!" They all laughed and hugged each other, ignoring the pained cries of Ritsu who was at the bottom of the pile.

Sawako pressed her fingers against her cheek as she watched the scene before her. She almost didn't notice that Terry had gotten to her feet and had slipped out of the apartment. Leaving the girls still dog-piling behind, she hurried out and caught up to the auburn-haired woman out on the sidewalk. "Terry! You didn't even say goodbye!"

Terry stopped and looked apologetic. "Sorry. I didn't want to ruin the moment," she told the shorter woman. She sighed and rolled her shoulders back. "I was suddenly feeling homesick and if I stayed any longer, who knows what could have happened." She laughed a little bit then readjusted her grip on her grocery bags.

"You miss them… don't you?"

"Of course I do," Terry replied, looking distracted.

"Do you miss playing with them too?"

For a moment Terry didn't move then she slowly turned to face Sawako. "I've missed it every single day since we disbanded," she admitted, sadness tingeing her voice. "We've never played together ever since we chose to disband." She looked up at the partly cloudy sky and watched the few stars sparkle against the dense darkness. "I suppose what I told them about friendship worked out for us. Even though we don't play together anymore, we still manage to keep our relationships with each other in check." She shrugged her shoulders tiredly. "That's what matters."

"I think…" Sawako stepped closer and took hold of Terry's hand. "I think you really need a friend right now," she told the younger woman with a kind smile.

"Are we friends?" Those emerald orbs bore into Sawako's.

"When you saved me from those persistent suitors the first time we met, I think already considered you as a friend." Sawako smiled up into Terry's face. "I know it gets lonely especially since you're in a foreign country. From now on, I want you to know that you could call me anytime. I wouldn't mind hanging out." She jerked her head back at the apartment. "I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind as well. They're all smitten with you."

Terry laughed. "I'm grateful, Sawako." Feeling immensely better, she leaned down and warmly hugged the teacher. "Thanks," she quietly said then pulled away. "I need to head on home. Are you going to home as well?"

Sawako shook her head. "It's getting late and I have half the mind to consume my hidden stash of beer I hid in the girls' refrigerator."

"You and Shannon are starting to act more alike," Terry teasingly accused. She turned on her heel and started walking down the street. She raised a hand up in farewell. "I'll see you soon, Sawako! Try not to drink too much!"

Sawako watched until the tall redhead disappeared at the next corner. "It just doesn't fit her… being lonely." She sighed and went back inside the apartment. As she made her way up the stairs, she couldn't help but replay Terry's compliments towards her. Those compliments made her feel warm all over and it certainly made her happy. She burst through the door, silencing the girls who were still in a dog pile. "I better find that beer I left in your refrigerator," her hazel eyes flashed evilly.

"Ahhhh! Sawa-chan! Don't change anymore!" Ritsu cried out fearfully.

"Your beer is still in there!" Mio hurriedly told their teacher.

Sawako visibly relaxed, which seemed to give the girls some relief. "Well, that's good then. I'm going to drink those and spend the night here, okay?" She suddenly stopped halfway to the refrigerator and slowly turned back around to grin at her former students. "Since Terry-san isn't here anymore…" Her hand inched towards her suitcase.

Mio shot up to her feet too fast and stumbled back onto her behind. She tried to back away in vain. "No… Sawa-chan! Please!" she whimpered.

"You'll look absolutely delicious in this outfit!"

"NOOOOOO!" Mio wailed while the rest of her friends tried to escape.


	4. Sleepover

_Chapter 4: "Sleepover"_

It was the second week of August and the heat was absolutely stifling. People could barely last outdoors due to the rather intense temperature. Even Terry, a true California girl, was finding the weather a bit too much for her. Since it was much hotter, she had taken to wearing a usual outfit of wifebeater shirts, various shorts of different lengths depending on her mood, and flip-flops. Despite not having gone to the beach in a long time, Terry was starting to tan from her time walking outside. She was already getting a tan line on the tops of her feet due to the straps of her flip-flops.

She had another month to go for summer break and she was starting to get bored. With no classes to keep her occupied, she fell back into her work, communicating with Miles as often as she could even though there were times that she had nothing urgent to talk about with her business partner. Miles would tease her about her being bored during her break and kept suggesting that she get a part time job to pass the time. Terry never took his advice though and was just about to go crazy from boredom if not for Sawako. The teacher knew about how restless Terry was getting so she would invite her out a few days each week. They did all sorts of things together: eating out, going to bookstores, looking through record stores, trying out all sorts of guitars in music stores, watching various bands at live houses and even just napping in a small park. The most fun activity Terry experienced so far for that summer break was when the Houkago girls invited her and Sawako to come with them to an amusement park. While she and Sawako were virtually fearless and rode all the thrill rides, it took forever to get Mio to actually ride any of the scarier rides and when she did join them for the ride, all she did was scream her head off and was often reduced to tears.

What they did enjoy all together at the amusement park was when Terry accepted a dare from Sawako to try the bungee-jump attraction. The said attraction was setup in the way that the jumper would be lifted by crane to a staggering height of three hundred feet. It was somewhat funny as Sawako and the girls started having second thoughts and tried to convince Terry to not go through with it. Unfortunately for them, Terry was a daredevil and confidently boarded the crane. Once she got to the top, she barely hesitated and threw herself into the sky with an excited shout. Her companions were all sighing in relief as she got unstrapped from the safety equipment.

Both Terry and Sawako tried to be present for the weekly performance of the band at The Cobalt Loft. While Sawako had no problem attending, Terry was a little more reluctant since Shannon would usually try to force her to stay and drink. There was also a slight problem developing, which made Terry lessen her visits at her friend's live house. Her open-mic performance had somehow become something of a legend and while Shannon loved the increase in fame and number of customers she was getting, Terry certainly didn't share the same feeling. On one particular night at the establishment, Terry had been trapped by a group of near rabid fans who were thankfully not aware of Terry's prior famous background. Shannon's bouncers had to intervene, which Mio found quite amusing. She expressed to Terry later on that it was somewhat comforting that she wasn't the only one being bothered by fans.

There were also quite a number of times the band invited the foreign woman to spend time with them at their apartment where they would eat, jam or just simply relax in each other's company. Unfortunately for them, they weren't safe from the clutches of Sawako even in their own home. Despite Terry's presence, Sawako continued to harass her students in various ways, embarrassing them so much because all of it was done in front of Terry. Sawako and Ritsu found it especially funny when they presented Terry with a DVD of all their performances back in high school. Mio was absolutely mortified and was just about to cry when Terry watched her mighty blunder during their first ever live performance. Soon after that, all of them with the exception of Mio were reduced to rolling on the floor in laughter when Mugi purposely served Terry some tea in a familiar white and blue striped cup. Terry was a little slow to understand why everyone was laughing, but when she did realize it, she started choking. Sawako had to pound on Terry's back several times to calm her down.

The college students worked hard over the break to perfect their performances with the help of Sawako and the former bassist of the disbanded Crimson Skies. Mio finally gathered enough courage to ask the famous Flame Bassist to sign her copy of their first album and even got a picture taken of the two of them. While Terry refused to do any part time jobs, Ritsu had applied for a number of them. Yui explained that Ritsu was trying to save up on money to buy a new drum set. Her first and current drum set was starting to wear out and she certainly didn't want to wait for it to break before buying a new one. What made it admirable was that Ritsu absolutely refused help from any of her friends especially from Mugi who kept offering to help her get one at a discounted price.

Throughout those first few weeks of summer vacation, the only other thing they didn't get to do yet was to be invited into Terry's condominium. While the Houkago girls frequently dropped subtle hints that they wanted to see what Terry's home looked like, Terry never seemed to pick up on their hints. They even resorted to getting Sawako to try baiting Terry into inviting all of them over, but that didn't work out as well. They weren't sure if Terry was deliberately avoiding the topic.

It wasn't until the end of August when they finally got their chance to enter the domain of the Flame Bassist.

* * *

_Near the end of August_

_

* * *

_

Terry was napping one late afternoon under the cool shade of a tree in a park near her condominium when she heard the crunching sound of feet sinking into the grass approaching her. Tipping the brim of her cap up so that she could look at whoever was coming closer, she released a loud yawn.

"I told you it was Terry-san!" Yui exclaimed, squatting down next to the supine Terry. "Who else has red hair like her?"

Azusa shook her head. "There are quite a lot of people with red hair although it may not be natural like Terry-san's." She smiled down at the sleepy redhead, noticing that there were a few blades of grass stuck in her hair. "Sorry to wake you."

Terry covered another yawn and sat up. "No need to apologize," she assured them with a smile. "What are you girls doing here? You're pretty far-off from your apartment." She took off her hat and shook out her fiery red hair.

"Well we were helping Ritsu canvass drum set prices. There was a music store in this area so we went to have a look," Mio explained, watching as Mugi leaned down and began to pick out blades of grass from Terry's hair.

Ritsu looked miserable. "At the rate I'm going, I'm not even going to make it to the halfway mark by the time summer vacation ends," she informed the older woman.

"What drum kit did you have in mind anyway?" Terry nodded her thanks to Mugi once she was done picking out the grass in her hair.

Ritsu scuffed her sandaled foot against the grass. "I've had my eye on the 6-piece Tama Imperialstar drum set," she replied. "I was thinking of going with the 5-piece, but then again I want to expand my playing range."

"What's the average price so far after all the canvassing you've been doing?"

"Around sixty-five thousand yen," Ritsu lamely replied. "It will take me forever to save up that much."

"It's not that bad. If you start having live houses actually pay you for performing and if you start selling CDs and other memorabilia, I think you'll be able to buy that drum set soon," Terry comforted the young drummer. "Actually, I think Shannon should start giving you some compensation for performing at her live house. She's definitely profiting whenever you girls are there." She made a mental note to have a talk with Shannon.

"I did tell Ritsu-chan that it really wouldn't be a problem if she bought a drum kit from my family's store," Mugi told Terry, her long white-blonde hair barely moving that windless afternoon. "It's easy enough to get her a discount, but Ritsu is refusing any help."

Terry smiled. "I understand how Ritsu feels though. There's this sense of fulfillment attached if you're able to save up money on your own and pay for your instrument. I did the same thing Ritsu is doing now when I bought my Thunderbird IV. It took a while, but I couldn't describe the happy feeling I got when I finally held the bass guitar in my hands."

"Ummm... I think we better find shelter," Yui interrupted, pointing up at the sky.

Azusa frowned as she felt drops of water hit her bared shoulders. "Great! It never occurred to us to bring an umbrella!" she complained. "The weather report didn't even give any warning that it might rain today!" She and her senpais all crowded underneath the tree as the drizzle started to get harder.

"Looks like we're stuck here," Mio remarked.

"We could always try to run for it," Yui suggested.

"You're the only one who's willing enough to get wet and risk getting sick!" Ritsu scowled at the lead guitarist who simply grinned back as a reply. "It's falling harder," Ritsu observed with worry. "And it looks like it's not going to stop anytime soon."

Terry sighed as she got to her feet. "Looks like I don't have a choice," she said to no one in particular. "We're going to run," she announced.

"Run where?" Mio asked, gray eyes wide.

"My condo," Terry absently replied. "Okay, it looks like the rain let up a bit." She peered at the falling rain then turned to the younger women. "Follow me!" She stepped away from the shade of the tree and sprinted towards the park exit.

"Terry-san! Not too fast!" Yui shouted as she and the others tried to keep up. They ran after Terry, managing to keep her in sight as they were led to a modern high rise condominium building. Once they were safely under the protective shade of the building's entrance, they attempted to squeeze out as much water from their hair and clothes so that they wouldn't make a mess inside.

"It's alright," Terry told them, shaking her wet hair out. "You could dry out in my condo. I'll even lend you some clothes." She nodded a greeting to the security guard and led the girls inside towards the elevator. "I live on the thirty-first floor," she explained to the band. They waited in silence throughout the vertical ascent then filed out into the hall. "Here we are," the redhead announced, unlocking her door and ushering her guests inside.

"Woah…" Ritsu breathed.

"Woah…" Yui and Azusa followed suit, gaping at the spacious and expensive dwelling of Terry.

Mio wanted to say something as well, but she ended up sneezing instead, which caught the attention of Terry. "Sorry," she apologized.

"Be right back." Terry disappeared into one of the rooms and came back out holding a bunch of towels. "Dry off with that," she ordered after distributing the towels. "I'll get some clothes for you to borrow in the meantime." She reentered her room then came back out after a couple of minutes. "Sorry, they may be a little big for you, but you'll only be wearing it here anyway." She didn't realize until after all the girls had changed into her loaned clothes that they were all wearing different UC Berkley shirts and were all in the process of rolling up the drawstring pants she had lent to each of them. "I should take a picture of all of you," Terry remarked with a smile. "You look like supporters of my university."

"Why don't you then?" Mugi asked, holding her arms out and feeling amused at how the shirt billowed around her slim frame.

"I bet it would look cool," Ritsu said, rolling up the sleeves of the shirt up to her shoulders.

"Make yourselves comfortable then." Terry gestured at the couch. "I think I have some drinks in the refrigerator so help yourselves! I'm just going to get changed quickly and throw your clothes into the washing machine."

"Did you think that Terry-san was this… well-off?" Yui asked her friends when Terry left them alone.

Mio looked over the expensive and stylish furnishings inside Terry's home. "Well, we all got the basic idea that Terry-san was well-off. She was in a famous band once and she does own her own company," she said, still looking pretty amazed. She shook her head suddenly. "I guess she's that type of person who doesn't like flaunting her wealth."

Ritsu whistled her own amazement from the kitchen. "She's got the best appliances too over here," she told her band mates. "Although I doubt she uses these often." She ran a hand across the sleek surface of the flameless stove.

"She's got quite the entertainment system too." Azusa knelt close to the widescreen high definition TV mounted on the wall and its extensive sound system. "Wow! Look at her collection of live concert DVD's!" She and Mugi were looking through the collection when Terry walked out of her bedroom in a different outfit. "Pop something in if you want," she told them as she gathered their drenched clothes and disappeared into the small laundry room.

"Oh! This looks promising!" Ritsu exclaimed, holding up a DVD for her friends to see. "It's even autographed!" She passed the DVD over to Mio whose gray eyes widened in surprise.

"What is it?" Yui asked, curiosity tickling her enough to scoot closer to Mio. "The Goo Goo Dolls Live in Buffalo?"

"Let's pop it in!" Ritsu took the DVD out of its case and inserted it into the player while Azusa found the remote and turned on the TV. They were midway through the opening song of the band whose roots were from New York when Terry joined them.

"I see you found one of my treasures." The former Crimson Skies bassist headed into the kitchen and grabbed a six-pack of canned juice. She also snagged a couple bags of potato chips then set her burden on the living room table. "I was at that concert myself," she told them with a smile. "Until now, I still believe it's the best concert I've ever watched." Having changed into a fresh set of clothes, which was composed of board shorts and a black wifebeater shirt, she settled down on the couch.

"Why do you say that?" Azusa asked, her eyes transfixed on the screen.

"Oh they played and sounded great and when it started to rain, it just added to the dramatic effect," Terry explained. "Sure I came down with a nasty cold the following day, but it was all worth it." She popped open her juice can and downed half of its contents. "I bought the DVD when it came out and when I got the chance to meet them in person, I had it autographed."

"Wow! You're a big fan of them, huh Terry-san?" Yui eagerly opened one bag of chips and began to stuff her mouth with food.

Terry chuckled at the sight Yui was making. "Yes, I'm a big fan. They're one of my favorite bands after all!"

Azusa sighed enviously as she watched frontman John Rzeznik play guitar. "He's obviously a skilled guitarist."

"He sure is," Terry agreed. "He's famous for using unusual and distinctive guitar tunings as well as his songwriting ability. I told you before that it's sometimes difficult to come across professional bands who sound as good as they do on their CD albums. One of the reasons why I admire this band is because of that. If you've listened to their recorded songs and compare them to their live performances, you could pretty much say that they sound the same."

"That's a major qualification for you, Terry-san?" Mugi asked, thinking to herself that Terry had high expectations.

"It is. I can't stand watching live performances where the band especially the vocalist sounds like shit as compared to the auto-tuned songs recorded in their albums." Terry made a face and finished the rest of her juice. "Anyway, would you like to have a tour of my home? It's not as big as you think though so the tour will probably last for about two minutes." The girls got to their feet and followed Terry around her flat. "You've already seen the living room and kitchen. This is my bedroom." She opened the door and let the girls file inside. "I didn't design it though. It came with the package when I bought this condominium." Despite not having a say in the furnishings, she did like the modern flare of her bedroom. The bed itself was a piece of art since it was composed of a large shiny white platform with a king-sized mattress set on top of it. Her sheets were a combination of black, dark blue and white while her blanket was solid back duvet. There was also a bedside table on one side and a tall metal lamp on the other. One side of her room had been converted into a study of some sort with a wood office desk, small filing cabinet and a comfy leather office chair. "Hey don't go diving in there!" Terry warned to no success as Yui and Mugi headed into her walk-in closet and bathroom. She sighed as she relented and let the girls explore, curling her toes against the soft rug beneath her feet.

"Those two are really curious," Mio told Terry with a smile. "Yui in particular just can't help herself when it comes to these kinds of situations."

"Ehhhh! Terry-san's closet is as big as my bedroom!"

Mio smacked her forehead with her palm. "She's also very straightforward," she added with a sheepish smile. "She'll say anything that's on her mind so she tends to be rather tactless as well."

"Come on girls. There's one more bedroom then you can have a look at the best room here!" Terry quickly showed the spare bedroom then led them into her small music studio.

"Wow! Terry-san! It's small, but you could practically do anything in here!" Azusa exclaimed, looking over the sound equipment. "Do you actually use these?" She pointed at the recorder and digital mixer.

"Oh I use them, but not in the way that you're thinking," Terry replied. "I frequently try to update the music scoring program I created and before I release any newer versions to the public, I test it out myself. I connect these," she gestured at the machines and instruments. "-to my laptop then do various tests."

"Ohhhh!" Mio was squatting in front of Terry's Thunderbird IV and almost drooling at the sight. "It's beautiful," she breathed out, holding her hand close to the bass guitar. "I know it's not a left-handed bass guitar, but still!" She sighed and gently ran a finger against the strings.

"Woah! What is this?" Ritsu knocked on the cajón and almost jumped back at the sound produced.

Terry covered a smile and walked over to the drummer. "As you can see, the room is quite small so I couldn't really cram in a full drum set." She gestured at the box-like instrument. "I brought this along with my other instruments when I came over from California." She gently pushed Ritsu aside and carried the cajón to the middle of the room. "It's called a cajón or box drum," she told her rapt audience who have never seen such an instrument. "It's basically a wooden box instrument that's hollow inside." She sat on it, spreading her legs so that she had access to the front of the cajón. "This is the side where you strike with your hands." She demonstrated and struck the middle portion with her hand, producing a somewhat low and reverberating sound. "You get a snare-like sound when you hit the upper corners," she further explained and gave a demo as well. "You can also experiment and hit the sides as well to produce different sounds. The sound hole is in the back." She twisted around and pointed at the said hole. "Why don't you have a go? I'm sure you'll take to it easily."

Ritsu carefully sat on the cajón, a little surprised that it was quite sturdy. She spent the next minute tapping on various parts of the drum, figuring out what sounds she could produce. "Okay! I think I got it!" She took a deep breath and started beating her hands against the instrument, grinning almost wildly at the beats and sounds she was producing.

"_Sugoi_ Rit-chan!" Yui exclaimed, bobbing her head to the beat.

"It's quite handy and easy to carry around," Terry told her guests. "I don't have enough hand-feet-eye coordination to play the drums so the cajón suits me well enough."

"I want to get one!" Ritsu shouted, her amber eyes twinkling.

"Ritsu!" Mio smacked her best friend's head. "Don't get distracted! You're supposed to be buying a new drum set!"

"But Mio!" Ritsu whined. "It's going to take me forever! I'm sure that I have enough money to buy a cajón and it's so pretty!" She and Mio continued to argue as Terry let Azusa take a closer look at her saxophone.

"It's so shiny!" Yui observed, looking at her reflection on the smooth silver finish of the instrument. "Look at all the buttons!"

"Yui-senpai! Don't touch without asking!" Azusa scolded the older girl.

Terry laughed as the lead guitarist looked properly ashamed from being scolded by her kohai. "This is my Keilwerth alto saxophone. To be more specific, it's a SX90R Solid Nickel Silver Alto Saxophone. Just by looking at it and hearing the name, you could already tell that it's not made of the usual materials."

"So it's really made out of nickel silver?" the blue-haired girl asked.

Terry nodded. "It sure is. The sound it creates is somewhat different compared to that of a sax made of brass." She suddenly chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Although the biggest reason why I chose this particular saxophone was because of its look," she admitted. "I was more partial to the none-gold and copper saxophones."

"Could you play a little bit for us?" Yui asked, her eyes pleading.

"Sure," Terry obliged and took hold of her saxophone. Once her lips connected with the reed, a jazzy and somewhat sexy song filled the room with its sound. Terry demonstrated the range of notes available by her saxophone then finished with a flourish. "I'm a little rusty, but I hope it sounded okay."

"More than okay!" Yui assured the older woman. They helped Terry replace the instruments then headed back into the living room.

Mio frowned at the dreary weather outside. "I don't think it's going to stop raining any time soon," she told her friends. "We could call for a taxi to take us back to our apartment." She suddenly frowned. "I just remembered that we hardly have enough pocket money left over."

"Are you running short too, Mugi-chan?" Yui asked the keyboardist.

"Right now, I don't have much in my wallet, but I could always go to an ATM." The blonde looked at Terry. "Is there an ATM nearby?"

"There's one a block away, but I wouldn't want to send you girls out in this weather." Terry paused and stared out of the window. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't really matter," she decided with a sigh. She momentarily ignored the girls as she switched on the TV and checked the weather channel. "There you have it! The report says that it's going to be raining for the rest of the night." She set the remote back on the table and looked at her charges. "You girls are going to stay the night."

"Ehhhh?" the Houkago girls chorused.

"But Terry-san-" Mio tried.

"But nothing!" Terry interrupted. "It's about time I repay you for always inviting me to hang out at your apartment. My summer vacation would be characterized by boredom if not for you girls so I really insist that you all stay the night." She furrowed her eyebrows at the strange looks she was getting. "What? Don't you trust me to take care of you?"

"Well… you have been hanging out with Sawa-chan a lot," Ritsu murmured, rubbing her chin in thought.

Terry let out a fake gasp of indignation. "Do you honestly believe that I'll harass you? Just so you know, I don't derive any pleasure from torturing people!" She placed her hand over her heart for emphasis and couldn't hold back her grin when the young women before her burst into laughter. "Seriously though, I'd rather not let you risk trying to get home in this weather."

Azusa, Mio, Yui, Ritsu and Mugi all looked at each other and nodded their heads. "We'd be happy to stay the night!"

"Woohoo! Sleepover!" Ritsu cheered, jumping onto the couch and rolling around in it.

"Since you all agreed, make yourselves comfortable here while I set up the guest bedroom for you." The green-eyed musician walked over to nearby closet and pulled out a box. "I'm guessing three of you can fit on the bed. The other two will have to sleep on this." She checked the inside of the box and nodded her head. "I'll just pump it up, put some sheets on it and get some extra pillows."

While Ritsu hogged the couch, the rest of the band lay atop a comfy rug on the living room floor. "Isn't this exciting? We're sleeping over at the Flame Bassist's home!" Yui said cheerfully.

Terry's head popped out from the spare bedroom. "About dinner, I don't really have anything else in my refrigerator," she told them. "If it's alright, why don't you girls order take-out? It's your choice what kind of food you want to be delivered here. I'll just pay for it, okay?" She went back inside to prepare their sleeping arrangements.

"What should we order then?" Mugi wondered, the various ideas swirling in her mind making her feel giddy.

"Pizza!" Ritsu shouted.

"Shouldn't you at least consider that Terry-san may be a bit bored of American food?" Mio asked, exasperation in her voice.

"But-" Ritsu looked pleadingly at her best friend.

"I don't mind pizza," Terry called from the bedroom, overhearing their conversation. "Just make sure that one of the pizzas is going to be full of meat."

Yui giggled. "Looks like Terry-san is a carnivore!"

"Meat lover is the better term for it, Yui-senpai." Azusa shook her head at her.

Terry had just finished pumping up the airbed and setting sheets and blanket on top it when she overheard the girls finish their call with the pizza company. She double checked the room and the spare bathroom before heading outside. "So how many pizzas did you order?" she asked them.

"Two large ones," Mugi replied. "We got one with the works and one meat lover's pizza for you."

The auburn-haired programmer nodded her head in approval and was just about to settle down next to the girls who managed to find her deck of cards and poker chips, when her doorbell rang. "Who could that be? I doubt it's the pizza delivery." She walked over to her door and swung it open, her head flinching back as what looked to be a bulging plastic bag was thrust up to her face. "Huh?"

"I hope you don't mind that I decided to come over!" The bespectacled woman leaned around the bag she held and smiled up into the surprised face of Terry. "The girls weren't at their apartment so I dropped by at The Cobalt Loft to see if they were there, which they weren't. Shannon didn't know where they were, but she did tell me about your hideous eating habits and told me where you lived." Her hazel eyes blinked up at the unmoving Terry. "Terry? Is something wrong?" Her own eyes widened suddenly as she heard the familiar raucous laughter coming from inside. "Is that-" She looked past the redhead and confirmed that it was indeed her missing students.

"Errrr… they found me at the park near here and I had them come over because of the rain. It doesn't look like it's going to let up for the rest of the night so I told them to stay over," Terry explained, not being able to read the look on Sawako's face. "Sawako…?"

"Eh? Sawa-chan is here?" Ritsu called from the living room.

"Sawa-chan! We're having pizza later!" Yui excitedly informed their mentor.

"Yui-senpai! You're knocking the poker chips away!" Azusa scolded, exchanging sheepish smiles with Mio and Mugi.

Terry looked over her shoulder. "Hey! Don't make such a ruckus! We might disturb the neighbors!" She was about to head back inside to calm the girls down when she heard the barest of whispers coming from Sawako's lips. "Huh? Did you say something, Sawako?" She leaned down to get closer and hear her better.

"I'm…. hurt."

"Huh?"

Sawako looked up suddenly, her hazel eyes bright with unshed tears. "I thought we were friends!" she wailed out loudly, falling to her knees.

"Sawako! What are you talking about?" Terry demanded, her green eyes flashing with worry not just for herself or for Sawako, but for the neighbors as well.

Sawako continued wailing. "You invited them all… without thinking of… me!" With a dramatic cry of pain, she fell flat to the floor and continued to wail. "I even made the effort to come over here to cook you dinner and I find you having the time of your life with my former students!" She peered up at the redhead and sniffed. "How cruel of you!"

Terry was shaking her head and trying to figure out how to calm the situation down. It was proving to be difficult due to Sawako. The longer she let this go on, the sooner the neighbors would come out of their homes and get angry at her. "Sawako! Please!" she tried, frowning hard when the teacher continued to make a fuss. Once she heard the familiar click of a door opening in the hall, Terry couldn't take it anymore and made a split-second decision. Grabbing the fallen grocery bag on the floor with one hand, she then quickly stooped down and grabbed hold of Sawako's body. With a grunt, she draped Sawako over her shoulder and quickly brought her inside. As Sawako continued to wail, she lightly threw her onto her couch and released a sigh of relief.

"Sawa-chan! What's wrong with you?" Ritsu demanded, watching as Azusa stepped closer and placed a hand atop their former club adviser's head.

Yui furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you make her cry, Terry-san?"

Terry vehemently shook her head. "No! Why would I do that? I wouldn't even try!" She rubbed her suddenly aching temples. "I couldn't exactly understand everything else she was saying, but before she started making a fuss, she said she came over to cook dinner for me." She sighed again. "I have a headache."

Mio looked suspiciously at the long-haired brunette. "Sawa-chan… are you perhaps jealous that you were excluded from this get-together?" They all stared as Sawako suddenly stopped wailing and thrashing on the couch. They all gasped in indignation when Sawako suddenly grinned and blew them all a kiss. "Why am I not surprised that this was all an exaggerated act?"

Terry looked about ready to collapse, her perfectly angled face tinged crimson in utter embarrassment. "Were you… just exaggerating?" she quietly asked her friend.

"Of course!" Sawako easily replied, her previous despair gone. "But Terry, Mio was right that I felt jealous!" She winked at the taller redhead. "Besides, I wanted to try my hand at harassing and embarrassing you!" She laughed loudly while her students scolded her for making such an attempt. "It was a very pleasant experience by the way! I never expected you to react that way!"

Mugi looked flushed, her eyes twinkling as she recounted how Terry strode back inside with a crying Sawako slung over her shoulder. "It was… nice seeing that," she murmured.

"What was that you said, Mugi-chan?" Ritsu asked.

"N-Nothing!"

Terry sank down onto the floor, still pressing a hand against her aching head. "I should remember to invite you whenever I'm with the girls," she muttered. "Also remind me never to take these outbursts of hers seriously," she told the amused band members. She could only guess that they were used to Sawako's antics.

"Sawa-chan! You should apologize!" Yui remarked. "I don't think Terry-san appreciated what you just did."

Sawako opened her mouth to argue that what she did was harmless, but she stopped when she saw Terry frowning hard and rubbing her temples. Sighing, she got up from the couch, walked over to the seated Terry and crouched in front of her. "Terry?"

"Hmmm…"

"I'm sorry. I guess I went overboard."

"Just don't make it a habit. I don't think I can get used to the headache your exaggerated outbursts give me," Terry replied, getting up as her doorbell rang again. "That should be the pizza." She turned to look at Sawako. "What were you planning to cook anyway? I'd feel bad if I don't accept your offer of making dinner for me." Instead of waiting for an answer, she went into her bedroom to fetch her wallet. "I suppose I could skip on the pizza for now and just eat whatever you'll cook for me."

"Are you sure?" Sawako asked.

"Yeah," Terry replied with a smile. "The leftover pizza can last for a couple of days anyway and I'd be an idiot to pass up a home-cooked meal." She went outside to deal with the delivery man and the payment. "Help yourselves," she told the younger women who crowded around the living room table when she set down the two boxes of pizza. While the Houkago girls dove into the pizza, Terry took the full grocery bag and led Sawako into her kitchen.

"Sit back and relax," Sawako kindly told the bassist turn businesswoman. "I'll take care of everything." She hummed out a tune as she began to unpack the ingredients she bought and place them on the granite counter. She then raised a medium-sized jar of sake for Terry to see. "I actually bought this for myself, but after what happened earlier, I'll be sharing it with you." She wagged her finger at the redhead who was already shaking her head at the prospect of drinking. "Shannon said that you have high alcohol tolerance. Besides, a few cups will probably help you relax." She searched around the cupboards and found what she was looking for. She quickly washed and rinsed the simple sake set she found and set two _sakazuki, _the flat saucer-like cups on the table. Uncorking the jar of sake, she carefully poured some into both cups and pushed one towards Terry, urging her to drink. "Trust me! It'll make you feel better."

"Will it now?" Terry wondered doubtfully. "It might just make my headache worse." When she saw the tell-tale signs of a frown forming on Sawako's face, she just scowled and downed the contents of her cup. "Phew! That's burning a trail down my chest!" She waited a moment and fortunately enough, the small amount of alcohol didn't intensify her headache. She held her hand up to stop Sawako who was about to refill her cup. "Later," she said. While Sawako, bustled around in her kitchen, she watched the younger girls good around.

"I hope you like fried rice and _tonkatsu," _Sawako called over her shoulder as she worked at the stove. "Are you feeling a little better?"

Terry sighed for her reply.

"I guess I really did go overboard." Sawako flipped her hair back as she deep friend the battered pork cutlets. "I'm so used to acting like that towards the girls that it didn't occur to me that others may react differently."

"As I said, it's alright. Just don't make it a habit with me," Terry replied, resting her elbows against the edge of the table. "How did you get here anyway?"

"Oh I drove my car."

Terry rubbed her chin. "Are you going home?"

Sawako nodded. "It would be too much for me to impose, right?"

The redhead shook her head. "I suppose I was being a little bit unfair by not thinking of you when I asked Yui and the others to stay the night," she admitted shyly. "It seems strange that I'm getting chummy with girls four years younger than I am when there's only a two year age gap between the two of us."

Sawako raised her finely shaped eyebrows. "Now how did you find out about my age?" She put on a frown, but knew that Terry wouldn't take it seriously. "Sheesh! You're reminding me about my old age!" She scooped out the pork cutlets and placed them on a napkin on top of a plate to drain the excess oil.

This time it was Terry who raised her eyebrows. "Twenty-eight isn't old!" she said with a laugh.

"It's getting there," Sawako argued back, setting the cooked food on the table and serving herself a cup of sake.

"If I never met you before, I would have thought that you were still in your early to mid-twenties," Terry pointed out, smiling when the long-haired brunette blushed at her compliment. "Promise!" she assured her.

"Well, it's certainly flattering hearing that from you." Sawako settled into the chair adjacent to the American. "Help yourself! I don't want to brag, but I'd like to think I'm a pretty good cook!"

"Better check it for poison first, Terry-san!" Ritsu called from the living room.

"Ritsu…" Sawako flashed a warning glare at the drummer who suddenly looked very involved in the card game she was playing with her band mates. She looked back in time to see Terry eat a spoonful of the steaming fried rice. "Is it good?"

"Wonderful," Terry replied contentedly. "It's great that I'm able to eat a lot of home-cooked meals like this more often." She ate for a few more minutes then paused to drink some water. "Growing up, it was a little bit difficult dealing with parents who were both bad cooks."

Sawako looked shocked. "How'd you manage then?"

Terry laughed. "We ate out or ordered food mostly," she answered. "Then there were those times our other relatives or family friends would come over with food and whenever we'd be invited to go to parties." Terry didn't protest when Sawako handed her another cup of sake. She gulped it down and suddenly looked grim.

"Is something wrong?"

The former bassist shook her head. "No… it's not really a big deal," she told her friend. "Talking about my family is making me remember a bunch of bad memories."

Sawako looked confused. It never occurred to her that Terry had a problematic family. "You don't need to talk about it with me," she said a little bit worriedly, thinking that she may have broached another off limits topic.

Terry shook her head and smiled. "As I said, it's not a big deal." She linked her hands behind her neck and looked up at her ceiling. "My parents were never happy with their marriage early on. They just stuck to the arrangement as long as they could especially when I was still a kid. They separated when I was in high school and within the next couple of years they had their own respective partners. They divorced soon after that to get married to their partners so now I have two half-brothers, one half-sister, and a stepsister from my mom's partner's previous marriage."

"Quite an extended family," Sawako remarked.

"It sure is," Terry agreed, shrugging her shoulders. "It gets a bit wild especially when us kids get together." She paused again and frowned.

"More problems still?"

"I get along fine with all my half siblings and my stepsister. Hell, you can even say that I'm chummy with my mom's second husband. It helped that he's a high school music teacher I guess." Terry sighed and poured herself a fourth cup of sake, knowing that this was going beyond her usual number of drinks. "It's a different story when it comes to my dad's second wife. She just doesn't have any shame at all," she disdainfully said. "She's plain mean to me in front of her kids and even in front of my dad."

"Have you done anything about it?"

Terry shrugged. "What could I do anyway? She's not doing anything explicitly unlawful."

"But still!"

"It's alright. I've already accepted that both my parents have their own lives to live." The bassist leaned back in her chair and stared at the rippling sake in her cup. "When I became a college student, I purposely distanced myself from both of them by moving out and getting a job. I didn't want to be dependent on any of them especially since they had their own families to support. Even now, they keep trying to get me to visit more often, but I manage to maintain my distance."

"But aren't you being hard on your parents? Even though they're divorced and have their own families, it doesn't mean they love you less," Sawako pointed out.

"I'm sure they love me, but you have to try to understand. It's not exactly a picnic being smack in the middle of two extended families." Terry shook her head, having enough of talking about her problematic and dysfunctional family. "How about you?" she suddenly asked, changing the topic. "No problems with the family?"

"Normal, I guess," Sawako decided. "It's a typical Japanese family setup. My dad was the hardworking salary man and my mom was the faithful housewife. Like you… well at least at first, I'm an only child." She downed another cup of sake. "The only real familial problem we had was when I was going through my wild and death metal phase. My mom was convinced that I had sold my soul to the devil and that I was either going to get arrested or commit suicide at any moment."

"You mellowed down anyway," Terry pointed out, furrowing her eyebrows at the teacher. "Well that's somewhat true," she rephrased with a grin, knowing that Sawako still had her Catherine persona slumbering within her. "So why'd you choose to become a teacher?"

Sawako played with the flat saucer-like cup with her fingers. "My future career form that we were required to submit back in high school was always rejected," she explained with a faint smile. "My teachers couldn't accept it because my friends and I would always write professional musician as a career. I just weighed out the possible _proper _careers I could go into and figured that being a teacher suited me best."

Terry glanced over at the living room to check on their charges. They seemed engrossed in playing some sort of Truth or Dare game. "Well, you wouldn't have met them if you didn't become a teacher."

Sawako grinned and raised another cup of sake in the air. "And we wouldn't have met each other," she added, gulping down her drink. "This is too hard," she complained then grabbed the jar instead. She ignored the shocked look Terry was giving her as she chugged down the sake from the jar. "Phew! That's great!" A hiccup escaped her mouth. She was already at the brink of being drunk. "I'll clean up!" She staggered off her chair, started to put away leftover food and placed dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

"You're drunk, Sawako," Terry said in a slightly amused voice.

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are," Terry cheerfully argued back. "And you're certainly not in the right state of mind to drive home." She took hold of Sawako's hand and dragged her into her bedroom. "You're going to sleepover as well." She led the older woman into her walk-in closet and loaned her clothes to sleep in. "Go change and hop into my bed. I'll keep an eye on the girls." She left the deeply red Sawako to do her bidding then headed into her living room to check on the band.

"What's wrong with Sawa-chan?" Yui asked as she drew silly things on Ritsu's face. The drummer just lost the recent game and was scowling quite fiercely.

Terry looked over all of the girls then laughed. All of them had various things drawn and written on their faces and arms. She only hoped that they didn't use a permanent marker. "Sawako had a little too much to drink," she began. "Aside from the bad weather, it's riskier for her to even try to drive home in that state."

Ritsu clucked her tongue. "As expected of Sawa-chan!"

"So she's going to sleepover too?" Mugi asked.

Terry nodded. "I gave her a change of clothes and told her to sleep in my bed." She sat on the floor with the rest of the girls and took the opportunity to have a closer look at their vandalized faces and arms. "At the rate you're going, you'll have to start writing or drawing on other parts of your body." She grinned as the Houkago girls giggled.

"We were planning to play a different game," Mio told the American.

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

Azusa shook her head. "We don't know actually. We pretty much played every game we know." She focused her burgundy brown eyes at the auburn-haired woman. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"You should play with us too!" Yui exclaimed, bouncing against the floor.

"Oh sure. I'll play with all of you." Terry had Mio pass her the deck of cards and was about to start dealing when Sawako thumped down next to her. The teacher was now dressed similarly to her students, wearing a slightly oversized shirt and drawstring pants. She was also holding on to the half-empty jar of sake.

"I thought you were going to sleep," Terry scolded, trying to take the jar away from the drunkenly grinning woman.

"It's too early and I'm not drunk!" She hiccupped and took a swig of sake. "I'm going to play too!" she decided.

Terry frowned hard, but decided to let the teacher have her way. "Okay, this is how we're going to play," she announced after distributing all the cards. "Don't look at your cards and hold them face down," she ordered them after catching Yui and Ritsu about to look. This is a variation of the game called slap jack. We take turns dropping a card face up until you see specific cards."

"What happens when we see those specific cards?" Mugi asked, vastly interested at the card game they were about to play.

"Depending on the card you see, you have to do a certain action," Terry explained. "There are only four cards that you have to watch out for. If you see a King, you have to salute." She demonstrated the action. "If you see a Queen, you have to flip your hair. That's right!" She smiled at Mugi who eagerly did the action, flipping back her long pale blond hair. "If you see a Jack, you place your fist underneath your chin. It's like imitating the beard." She demonstrated once more. "Lastly, if you see an Ace, you have to slap your hand against the floor. Our hands have to pile up though. So if you do the wrong action or you're the last person to do it or your hand is at the top of the pile in the case of the Ace card, you lose and have to collect the cards that were dropped."

"So whoever gets rid of all her cards is the winner," Sawako slurred.

"That's right," Terry replied. "Shall we start then?" She started the game by placing one card face up on the floor, staying still when she saw that it was just a normal card. Sawako went next and also dropped another normal playing card. It was the same with Mugi until Mio nervously dropped a King. Hands shot up to their foreheads in a salute.

"Oh good… I didn't make a mistake," Mio muttered, watching carefully as Azusa and Yui took their turn, not dropping any of the special cards.

"My turn." Terry flicked the next card onto the floor, green eyes widening when she realized that she had dropped an Ace. She immediately slapped her hand onto the floor, wincing slightly as other hands thudded on top of it.

"_Shimatta!" _Mio exclaimed. Her hand was on top of the pile.

Terry laughed. "Well you get to keep all the cards dropped so far then."

"This sucks!" The bassist gathered the cards and combined them with her current stack. "At least there's no consequence."

Sawako suddenly grinned and noisily set the jar onto the floor, getting the attention of the group. "That's what's missing! A consequence!"

"The consequence is usually reserved for the person who's left with the most cards at the end of the game," Terry informed the Japanese women around her.

"But that's boring!" Sawako complained. There was an evil glint in her hazel eyes. "There should be a consequence for the person who makes a mistake!" She grinned at her suddenly nervous and worried looking students. "I volunteer to come up with the consequences!"

"I object!" Mio immediately protested in a near shout.

"I don't see any problem with the suggestion though," Terry remarked, grinning at the gray-eyed Mio who looked just about ready to bolt out of the room and escape. "Let's go ahead and try it. If you're worried about Sawako's consequences, I can always overrule them if it's too much." She didn't think that Sawako was listening though since she looked like she was already thinking of the possible consequences she could dish out to the losers.

It wasn't surprising that the first person to commit a mistake in the next round was Mio. Instead of flipping her hair for the Queen card, she accidentally saluted instead. She was already whimpering in fear as Sawako crossed her arms over her chest and nodded her head in thought. The teacher then smiled, reached forward with her hands and started clutching them. "Groping!" she decided, making Mio jump back.

"I don't think so," Terry said, grabbing Sawako by the arm and pulling her back. "No perverted consequences."

Sawako let out a disappointed huff. "That's no fun."

"Too bad, Catherine," Terry replied, jokingly using Sawako's stage name. She turned to Mio and winked at her. "I'll give the consequence for this round." She looked around the living room for a moment. "Okay, let's give you a simple one for now. Pick someone in the group and rap a short song about her."

"Rap?" Mio asked incredulously. "But I don't-"

"Try to rap," Terry interrupted. "It's that or I'll come up with a harder dare."

Mio gulped, tucking her hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath and did a terrible rap. _"Hey! Yo! My name is Mio! Errr… in high school I played Romeo! I play the bass and not… the banjo! And I like things that are cute… cutesy…oh!"_

Ritsu couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter. "What the hell was that?" she shouted. "That was awful!"

Yui and Azusa were also laughing equally as hard as Ritsu while Mugi held back most of her laughter by covering her mouth with her hand. "It was obvious that Mio-senpai was struggling to come up with words that would rhyme," Azusa snorted, wiping tears from her eyes.

Terry's eyes twinkled as she grinned at the very red-faced Mio. "It was an okay attempt although you rapped about yourself and not someone else in the group." She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, you still pretty much did the dare anyway. Let's keep playing."

Twenty minutes later and after a great deal of laughing and teasing on the account of those who were unfortunate enough to lose a round, they were down to Sawako and Terry as the last two players. Since it would be difficult for any of them to get rid of their cards, they decided that the next person to commit a mistake would be declared the loser and thus do a consequence. The younger girls all watched attentively as Sawako and Terry played quickly and managed to do all the actions at the same time.

"Feeling lucky, Terry?" Sawako asked, flicking down another card.

"I'm pretty confident that I'm going to win." Terry flicked down a King and simultaneously saluted with Sawako. "I'm certainly not going to lose to an inebriated woman!"

Sawako grinned. She flicked down another card then suddenly stuck her hand out over the floor. "Hah!" she shouted, prompting Terry to slap her hand down onto the floor.

Terry's eyes widened upon realizing what she had just done. "Shit!" she cursed. Sawako had tricked her into thinking that she had dropped an Ace. "No way!"

"I win!" Sawako hooted, pumping her fist into the air and gulping down the rest of the sake in the jar. "Consequence time for Terry! Now what should we make her do?"

"Oh! Leave that to us Sawa-chan!" Ritsu told their rather drunk mentor. She and her band mates huddled together to think of a consequence while Terry continued to grumble about how Sawako had tricked her.

"What do you think should we make Terry-san do?" Yui asked excitedly in a hushed voice.

Azusa frowned. "Nothing bad though. She is our host."

"How about we make her sing to us?" Mugi suggested.

Ritsu shook her head. "Too easy."

"Ask her to do a split?" Mio tried, already uninterested.

"I doubt she could do that and wouldn't it hurt?" Azusa shook her head and tried to think of something else.

"Hurry it up!" Sawako ordered, fanning herself with a magazine. "Or else I'm going to come over there and grope all of you!"

"No!" Mio screamed. "Ritsu just think of something!"

"I don't know!" the drummer shouted back. "The only things I can think of are perverted stuff like lap dances and that's not allowed!"

"W-What? Sawako! Get off me!"

The Houkago girls all turned around and stared in shock at the sight before them. Terry was trying to hold Sawako away from her. The teacher had somehow managed to straddle the redhead and was making a very poor lap dance attempt. Despite how poor the attempt was, it was enough to make Terry panicky. "We have to get her off!" Azusa sprung up to her feet. They all reached down to pull their former teacher off when Sawako's body suddenly went still. Their drunk teacher was lying motionless against Terry's chest.

Terry slowly looked up at the confused set of five faces looking down at her. "I… think she passed out." She released a slow breath of relief while the girls around her continued to look at Sawako in disbelief. "Good thing she passed out before anything else could happen!" she said in a soft voice to not wake up the sleeping teacher. Shifting the position of Sawako, she carefully got to her feet and gently cradled Sawako in her arms. "I'll put her to bed," she told the girls who started to clean up the living room. She padded into her bedroom, pulled back the blanket with her toes and gently laid Sawako down onto her bed. After securing the blankets around the deeply slumbering woman, Terry headed back outside to check on the girls.

"Is she alright?" Mio worriedly asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"She's alright, but I'm quite sure she'll wake up with a nasty hangover," Terry replied, leaning against the doorframe. She tiredly smiled at her charges. "That almost gave me a heart attack," she remarked. "I keep underestimating that wild side of hers."

Azusa shook her head ruefully. "She's wild enough without the alcohol."

"We apologize on her behalf." Mugi bowed to Terry.

"Ritsu should apologize as well," Mio said with a pointed glare at the drummer.

"It wasn't my fault!" Ritsu said defensively.

"You were the one who mentioned lap dances," Azusa muttered.

Yui let out a loud yawn and sleepily rubbed her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just really sleepy."

Terry smiled and led the girls to their room. "Go ahead and sleep then. I'd take care of Sawako, but there's nothing much to do since she's dead asleep." She watched as Mugi and Azusa helped Yui into the bed and lay down on either side of her. Ritsu and Mio settled in on the airbed on the floor. She started to pull the door close when Yui spoke up in a sleepy voice.

"_Oyasumi _Terry-san."

The auburn-haired woman smiled. _"Oyasumi,"_ she called back and closed the door. She quietly reentered her own bedroom and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Slipping into the bed as carefully as possible as to not disturb the other occupant, Terry switched off the lights and made herself comfortable underneath the blanket. She glanced over at Sawako and shook her head in amusement. "You sure are a handful," she whispered, turning to her side and closing her eyes.


	5. Kyushu

_Chapter 5: "Kyushu"_

"Beach trip?"

Yui eagerly nodded. She and her band mates had just arrived at the small café Terry and Shannon were hanging out at. "We've been doing annual summer training ever since we got together as a band when we were freshmen back in high school." She bounced from one foot to the other as waiters pulled up another table and chairs so that they could sit with the two American women. "Most summers, we go to the beach and stay at one of Mugi's rest houses."

Shannon let out a low whistle. "Rest houses, huh?"

Mugi smiled. "My father has several of them located all over the country," she explained. "This time around though, we're going to hold our summer training in Hyuga City, which is in the Miyazaki Prefecture."

"That's down south in Kyushu, Terry," Shannon told her friend. "And from what I've heard, it's one of the prime spots for surfing here in the country." Upon mentioning surfing, Terry's eyes immediately brightened and her mood significantly improved.

"Surfing?" Terry murmured, looking quite distracted.

Shannon sighed and waved her hand in front of Terry's eyes. "Hey! Earth to Terry!" She just laughed and left Terry to her own thoughts. "I'm assuming it's a beachfront rest house."

"It is. My father made sure that he had his own private stretch of beach. I've only been there a couple of times, but I do remember it having good waves for surfing." The keyboardist flipped her hair back to air out her sweaty neck and shoulders. "When we realized that it's a surfing paradise, we thought about Terry-san and decided to invite her."

Ritsu grinned as she looked at the still entranced Terry. "I told you we don't need to ask! It's a definite yes!"

"I'm definitely going!" Terry suddenly announced. "It's been more than half a year since I last went to the beach and got on a surfboard." She beamed happily at the Houkago Tea Time girls. "I'm happy that you thought about me!"

Mio smiled back, feeling Terry's infectious happiness overcome her as well. "We're leaving this Thursday and coming back on Sunday. Is that alright with you?"

"More than okay," Terry replied, taking out her cellphone and marking the dates. "Are there any other details I should know?"

Azusa took over the explanation. "Mugi-senpai and I decided that it would be easier to take the Shinkansen bullet train from here in Nagoya all the way to the Yatsushiro Prefecture. Apparently the Fukuoka station is now connected to Yatsushiro, which makes traveling easier. Mugi-senpai arranged for a private bus to pick us up at the station then we'll drive the rest of the way to Hyuga."

"Sounds like a long journey," Shannon remarked. "What's the estimated travel time?"

"Well we'll be taking the Nozomi Shinkansen, which is the fastest among the other services," Mugi explained. "From Nagoya to Yatsushiro, it's around four hours I think. It's not that bad. The bus ride will take an estimated hour and half to get to the rest house in Hyuga."

"If we leave early in the morning, we'd get to Mugi-senpai's place by lunch time," Azusa added, sharing a smile with the long-haired blonde. While Mio helped a little bit with the planning and logistics, it was Azusa and Mugi who did most of the work. Ritsu and Yui on the other hand were more excited about what clothes and swimsuits to bring and the activities they could do once in Hyuga.

Terry tapped out a few more notes on her cellphone then placed it back in her pocket. "Is Sawako coming along?" she asked the band.

"Of course!" Ritsu exclaimed. "Sawa-chan would never allow herself to be left behind!" She held her hands out and smirked. "Knowing her, she's probably already packing!"

"What's wrong with that?" Yui asked, a frown lining her face. "I've been packing since yesterday!"

While Ritsu roughhoused with Yui, Mio continued to converse with Shannon and Terry. To the former, she asked, "Would you like to come along too? Mugi is going to buy the train tickets later."

Shannon smiled, but shook her head. "I'd like to go, but this coming weekend is going to be a real busy one for me. I've got two professional bands coming in and it's going to be a handful to deal with them and the clients." She finished her drink and signaled the waiter to bring over their bill. The spiky-haired blonde stopped Terry when she made a move to get her wallet. "My treat today," she firmly said, ignoring the scowl Terry was giving her. "I have to get going in any case. Enjoy your trip girls!" She waved goodbye to the girls and left.

Terry suddenly groaned, garnering the attention of the younger women around her. "I'm psyched that we're going to a surfing beach, but I don't have any gear with me. I'd have to buy some and I can already imagine how hassling it would be to lug a surfboard with me onto the train."

Mugi shook her head and patted Terry's hand. "Don't worry too much, Terry-san. I asked the staff at the rest house to provide surfboards for us."

"For us?" Terry repeated, unsure of what she just heard.

"We'd like to try surfing too!" Yui said with a goofy smile.

Terry sighed. "Well since surfboards will be provided, we just need surf wear," she decided, glancing at her watch and seeing that it was nearly four in the afternoon. "It's usually enough to wear ordinary swimsuits, but we could look at other gear as well. I know there's a water sports store nearby. Why don't we all go together?" They all ambled down a couple of streets until they reached the said store. They filed inside and were soon entranced with the various products. Terry shifted them towards the swimwear section.

"Wetsuits?" Mio wondered aloud, reaching out with her hand and feeling the texture of the garment.

"It's common for surfers to wear them, but it gets hot especially in the summer. We could deal with rash guards." She pointed at the short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirt variations. "They're more comfortable to wear in hot weather and it protects your skin from chafing since you'll be doing a lot of sliding on the surfboard." She walked over to the boardshorts and riffled through them. "I'll be here. I need to buy a couple of boardshorts for the trip."

Ritsu took a closer look at the variety of rash guards on the rack. "These are nice!" She pointed at the Roxy branded rash guards.

"They're on sale too!" Azusa pointed out, looking at the price tags and deciding that it was within her budget.

"I've got a discount with most of the major surf brands so pick whatever you like!" Terry called from the inside of the changing room.

"It looks like it's only the Roxy brand that's on sale today," Mio remarked, holding out a white long sleeved rash guard with the trademark heat-shaped logo on the chest. "I think I'll get this one," she decided, heading into the changing rooms to try it on.

"I'll get this one!" Ritsu grabbed a short-sleeved rash guard that was also white, but had the green logo hugging the waist area. Mugi picked a short-sleeved rash guard that was mostly white except for the collar, shoulder and sleeves, which were a light blue color. Yui and Azusa settled for the black variety, the former going for a short-sleeved one while the latter took the opposite. After trying their selected items on, they headed back into the store to find Terry at the counter with two pairs of boardshorts and a black and silver long-sleeved rash guard. To the cashier, she said, "We'll pay separately, but could you use the discount card on their purchases as well?"

"That's fine," the cashier replied, scanning the barcode on the price tags and totaling the amount. It took around ten minutes for them to pay and leave the store.

"By the way, Mugi-chan," Terry suddenly said as they walked down the street. "You should tell your staff to provide surfboard suitable for beginners."

"What do I have to tell them specifically?"

"For you girls, it's best if you go with longer boards. It's more stable that way." She looked down at the shorter women before her. "You're all about five feet and four inches though Mio is probably five feet and six inches," she observed, comparing their height with her own height of five feet and ten inches. "Tell your staff to find longboards that are seven feet or so."

"Seven feet?" Yui exclaimed. "That's big! Won't it be hard to carry them?"

"You're going to be in the water anyway so you won't need to carry it much," Terry replied with an amused smile.

"What about you Terry-san? What's the length of your surfboard?" Mio asked.

"Well, I'm a more experienced surfer so I use a shorter board. My surfboard back home is about six feet and four inches. Shorter boards give you more maneuverability."

Mugi quickly noted down Terry's advice on her cellphone. "So seven feet or more for us beginners and six feet and four inches for you," she repeated.

"That's right." The redhead glanced at her watch once more. "You should probably tell Sawako to borrow or purchase a rash guard for herself." Slinging her purchases over her shoulder, Terry began to bade the girls goodbye. "It's getting late," she told them. "I'll see you girls this Thursday then!"

They all watched Terry stride away happily. "Think we made the right decision?" Ritsu asked.

"Wasn't that smile on her face enough of a reason?" Mio pointed out with a laugh. "She's been taking care of us even though she's not obligated to do so. The least we can do is to invite her to come along with us to the beach and surf."

* * *

_Thursday, 8 am – Inside one of the standard reserved seating train compartments_

_

* * *

_

"Typical of Sawako to have a hangover at the beginning of the trip," Ritsu remarked, shaking her head at their teacher who was groaning in her seat. "She keeps getting drunk the night before the trip." As planned, they all met the train station at five-thirty to catch the six am train.

"I shouldn't have gone to that party Norimi dragged me to," Sawako moaned as Terry reached over and helped her recline her chair.

"You still went and obviously had too much to drink," Terry replied patiently, taking a cold towel from Mugi and placing it over Sawako's forehead and eyes. "Try to sleep it off in the meantime," she ordered, leaning back into her chair and crossing her legs. "Did she do this before too?"

"We went to the summer festival once with her and she was wasted," Azusa replied, covering a smile with her hand as she remembered that particular summer trip. Yui had uncharacteristically arrived earlier than everyone else while Sawako looked like the living dead. "She looked terrible and slept for most of the trip."

"Who's Norimi?" Terry wondered, glancing over at the still groaning.

"Oh she's Sawa-chan's Death Devil band mate," Yui answered, digging into her bag and bringing out her snacks. "She plays guitar and works at a music store." She offered her snacks to her friends. "We've met Sawa-chan's friends before, but it's Norimi-san we know best. I guess you can say that they're best friends."

Terry smiled. "It would be interesting to meet her former band mates," she admitted, flagging down a train stewardess and ordering food for herself. She was hungry after all and didn't have time to have breakfast. "So Sawako and her friends all have stage names?"

"Yes," Mio answered. "As you know, Sawa-chan is Catherine. Norimi-san was known as Christina. Their bassist, Sakurai Kayo-san went by with the name Jane and their drummer Hoshino Aya-san was known as Della."

"We played with them before!" Yui informed the redhead.

"Only for part of a song," Ritsu clarified. "We were press-ganged into playing along with the former Death Devil band at one of their friend's wedding. Sawa-chan originally wanted nothing to do with the performance, but she couldn't control herself and ended up stealing the show!"

"The costumes we had to wear were wild!" Yui remarked, grinning at how they had made a fuss in the dressing room.

"Must have been quite an experience," Terry mused, wondering herself how Sawako had been back in her glory days as the lead guitarist and vocalist of her band. "Don't they still play together, though?"

Azusa shook her head. "Sawako's quite adamant about not playing again in the band. It would totally ruin all her work on trying to become the gentle and elegant teacher we all know. She's loosened up a little bit though especially when she realized that her students admired her both of her personas. That's still not enough to make her go back to being Catherine."

"Hmmm... that really makes me wonder. She's certainly very interesting when she shifts into Catherine. I don't really understand why she's ashamed."

The Houkago girls looked at each other as if they were seeking each other's permission. They all glanced at Sawako who was now dead asleep. "Sawa-chan was never wild to begin with," Ritsu began in a softer voice.

Terry furrowed her eyebrows. "Really? I had the notion that the reason she trained herself to be gentle and elegant was because of her wild nature to begin with."

"She really wasn't wild in the beginning," Yui confirmed. "She told us the whole story when we blackmailed her into becoming our club supervisor."

"Blackmailed?" Terry laughed. "Why'd you do that?"

"We weren't recognized as an official club because we didn't have a club supervisor," Mio answered, frequently glancing over at Sawako. "We found some old photo albums of the old Light Music Club and saw some old pictures of Sawa-chan and her friends in their Death Devil days."

"And you used it against her so that she'd become your club supervisor," Terry guessed, chuckling in amusement. They were certainly an interesting bunch.

"Anyway, Sawa-chan gave us a first glimpse of Catherine during that time and then she gave us a dramatic retelling of how she became like that and why she worked hard to change into the teacher she is now." Mugi passed around some tea she brought along with her. "According to her, she confessed her feelings to a boy she liked who told her that he couldn't reciprocate her feelings because he liked wild girls."

"Ahhh…" Terry breathed out. "Now I understand. So she went wild in an attempt to impress the boy and get him to fall for her."

"It didn't happen though," Ritsu said. "When Sawa-chan approached him again, he flat out turned her down saying that she had gone overboard." She and her band mates all sighed and looked sympathetic. "It must have been really painful for her to be rejected after working so hard to get the attention of that boy."

Terry shrugged. "Love hurts," she quoted. "It's not as happy as people make it look like." She gave her thanks to the stewardess who served her a bento box. "Sorry, I'm hungry. I didn't get to have breakfast before meeting up at the station." She dug into her meal while the girls chatted and looked at the passing scenery through the windows.

"Another hour or so before we get to Yatsushiro," Mugi told everyone. "I've already sent a message to the small bus that's going to pick us up."

"Looks like we're going to get to Hyuga on schedule then," Azusa said happily, looking forward to having fun on the beach as well as practicing with her band mates. "Are you excited too, Terry-san?"

Terry smiled, getting a glimpse of the ocean from her window. "Very," she answered.

* * *

They were fifteen minutes away from Mugi's rest house when Terry decided to pull down the window and breathe in the familiar tangy ocean air. The bus that Mugi had gotten surprised all of them when it drove up in front of the Yatsushiro train station. It was a small bus, but it was quite luxurious, which preempted their expectations of what the rest house would be like. According to Mugi, it was the corporate coach of her father. Inside, the front portion of the bus had four lazy boy chairs facing each other while the back portion had two comfy couches lining the sides. There was a small bathroom in the back, a refrigerator and a TV mounted on the back wall. While Mugi's band mates 'oohed and 'ahhed' at the luxurious interior of the vehicle, Terry simply helped Sawako into the bus and laid her down on one of the couches since she still wasn't feeling well.

"I've ridden in something similar back when we were touring," Terry informed the girls when they asked why she didn't seem so fazed. "Of course, we were only able to experience this kind of luxury when we became famous." She settled into the opposite couch and thoughtfully lowered the blinds so that Sawako wouldn't be bothered by the sunlight.

She was feeling the wind in her air and listening to the idle talk from the younger women when the driver turned into a driveway and drove through the gates that secured the Kotobuki property. Her vivid green eyes were focused on the waves cresting and breaking and not on the mansion.

"We're finally here!" Yui declared, stretching her travel-weary body. She took her guitar from the driver who was unloading their things and looked through the other luggage for her own bags.

"Mugi! You've outdone yourself again!" Ritsu grinned and gave a thumbs-up at the smiling keyboardist. "This is the biggest yet so far!" She gestured extravagantly at the beachfront mansion before them.

"Is it the biggest?" Mio wondered.

Mugi shook her head. "Sorry," she started, looking sheepish. "I keep trying to get the biggest one, but it's always booked whenever I try to reserve it for us." She held her packed KORG Triton Extreme in one hand while she pulled along her stroller bag in the other. "I hope this will suit us well enough though."

"More than well enough!" Azusa laughed, slinging her guitar on her back and following Mugi to the front door.

"Feeling better, Sawa-chan?" Ritsu asked, hanging back so that she could help their teacher if necessary.

The brunette nodded tiredly. "I think the alcohol is gone from my system, but I still feel slightly lightheaded." She dragged her large duffel bag across the ground and shaded her eyes against the afternoon sun. "Isn't that Terry's stuff?" She pointed at a black Adidas duffel bag and Jansport backpack on the ground.

They all turned around and saw that it was indeed Terry's bags. "Where did she go?" Mugi wondered, calling the driver over and asking him to take Terry's things inside. "Maybe she went to look for the bathroom?"

"I don't think so," Azusa answered. "She used the bathroom in the bus a while back."

Yui suddenly grinned and pointed down to the beach. "Look!"

They looked down at the private stretch of beach owned by Mugi's family and smiled. With her shoes discarded at a safe distance, Terry was already knee deep in the water and had her face upturned to the clear blue skies. Her fiery auburn hair danced against the strong sea breeze that moved up the shore. "Looks like she beats the two of you," Mio teased Yui and Ritsu who were usually the first people to step foot onto the beach.

"Should we call her back?" Azusa asked.

Sawako shook her head. "Leave her be. She'll follow us inside soon enough." They all entered the mansion, slipping off their footwear and putting on the slippers provided for them. They briefly marveled at the large and airy foyer then followed Mugi into the large bedroom they'd all be sleeping in. They found out from Mugi that there were more than ten bedrooms, but she figured that all of them would like to stay in the same one. There was also a fully stocked kitchen, a living room that was also the entertainment center of the mansion, a large indoor bath, an outdoor swimming pool, a veranda that opened to the beach, and many others. It never ceased to amaze them how wealthy Mugi really was even though the pale blonde-haired pianist didn't act like it.

"We'll sleep here," Mugi said, putting down her bag and easing her keyboard off her shoulder. There was a large bed in the room, but the furniture had been moved to the side to open up the floor space. By the wall, there were enough futons and pillows for their group. "Just set your things here then we'll bring our instruments to the studio." With their instruments in hand, they entered the soundproofed studio that was well-equipped with the things they would need for their training. There were several amps, an assortment of stands, coiled wires and cords, and a loaned six-piece Sonor drum set for Ritsu to use.

"You pulled out all the stops, Mugi-chan," Sawako said, enjoying the enthusiasm her students showed at getting the opportunity to play in such a nice music studio. She stretched her body and yawned. "I'm hungry."

"Oh me too!" Yui raised her hand in the air. "We have to make lunch right?"

Mugi nodded her head and led them towards the kitchen. "Since we arrived at this time, I asked for the staff to go grocery shopping for us." She subtly crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped that the staff had not gone overboard with the groceries. She let out a sigh of relief when she glimpsed the contents of the refrigerator when Yui opened it. Everything looked fine.

"Anyone up for a swim?" Terry walked into the kitchen barefooted; her auburn hair tussled from the wind. "Oh lunch first," she said, walking over to Sawako and looking into her face. "Are you feeling better?"

"Better," Sawako agreed with a smile. "Thanks for taking care of me during the trip."

"No problem." The redhead was soon relegated to seat at the dining table along with Sawako while the band scurried around the kitchen preparing their lunch. "How much did you exactly have to drink anyway last night?" she asked the bespectacled woman who sat beside her.

"Hmmm…" Sawako lightly scratched her chin. "I lost count after the eighth glass. That's not including the beers and shots I drank too."

"You're going to kill your kidneys that way," Terry said with a shake of her head. "The girls told me about your band mates by the way."

"They did?"

"Do you still stay in contact with them?"

Sawako nodded. "Of course! Well, we try to at least meet up at least once a week, but ever since I moved to Nagoya to study at Sora International, we haven't seen each other. I do talk to Norimi frequently over the phone though. She updates me with the lives of our other friends." She drank from her glass of juice and sighed. "I suppose they've also told you about other embarrassing things about me?" She looked quite glum.

Terry grinned in any case. "They told me about how you decided to become wild for a certain boy you liked."

The brunette groaned and pressed a hand against her forehead. "Did they have to do that?" she muttered. "Yes, I know it was stupid," she put in before Terry could speak.

"I wasn't going to say that," Terry told her with a smile. "I will admit that it's amusing and the only stupid person in that experience of yours was that boy you were chasing after. He was fickle for rejecting you after you made so much effort to change for his sake." She shook her head. "High school love, I guess," she murmured with a shrug.

"Did you have a love life too?"

Terry laughed at the question. "Not much of one," she replied, leaning back against her chair. "I dated one boy in high school for a month or so before he decided that there were more interesting and prettier girls than me. He wasn't particularly happy that he was dating a so-called computer geek." She ran a finger along the damp and cool surface of her glass. "There were a couple of other guys that I dated in college, but it was nothing serious. There were also a few flings when we were touring as a band, but that turned out to be nothing as well." Her green eyes locked with Sawako's hazel ones. "Anything else you want to know about this boring topic?" she joked.

Sawako covered her grin with her hand. "I guess you're just like me. I'm just plain unlucky when it comes to love. I did have other boyfriends throughout college and through the years I was a teacher at Sakura High, but those never lasted."

"Better to be single and have lots of friends is what I'd always say," Terry remarked with a laugh. She gazed hungrily at the food the girls set on the table in front of them. "You're starting to spoil me," she accused the Houkago girls as they settled into their chairs.

"You like it anyway, Terry-san," Yui replied back teasingly. For the next few minutes, none of them spoke as they dug into their food, filling their stomachs until each of them were full and content. For dessert, Mugi brought out a gallon of amaretto flavored ice cream. It was close to two in the afternoon when they finished lunch. While the girls decided to tour the mansion, Sawako and Terry headed into the bedroom for some siesta time. Both of them woke up from their naps an hour later to the girls unpacking and looking for their swimsuits.

"We have a few hours left before sunset. We could swim a little bit until then," Mugi informed the group.

"Then it's time for practice," Mio decided with a sense of firmness and finality in her voice, which was mostly aimed at the over excited Yui and Ritsu who were already in their bikinis.

"Hai! Hai!" Ritsu replied unconvincingly as she dragged Yui out of the bedroom with her. They were going to the beach without waiting for their friends.

Azusa shook her head as she tied her hair back into a low ponytail, foregoing her usual pigtails. "That's pretty much a sign that we're not going to practice at all tonight." She sighed and exited the room while Mugi and Mio grabbed their bags that held the essential things they would need at the beach.

"Should we wait for you and Terry-san?" Mugi politely asked.

Sawako shook her head. "The two of you go ahead. We'll follow." She crouched down in front of her duffel bag and rummaged around for her own bikini. "I think I'll save the swimming for tomorrow. I'll start on my tan and just relax on the beach." While she dug out her bikini and grabbed a bottle of sunblock and her shades, she didn't notice that Terry had already gotten changed into an olive green bikini and was contemplating whether she should wear the white and green boardshorts she held in her hands. "Do you want to use the bathroom first-" she halted suddenly when she turned around to speak to the bikini-clad Terry. It was only now that she had an up and personal look at Terry's body. She was certainly fit despite claiming that she spent a lot of her time indoors and in front of a computer. Most likely, the redhead worked out when she wasn't busy. While she wasn't overly muscled, Terry's arms and legs were nicely cut. You could see the defining lines of muscles running along her limbs while her waist was firm and taut. It was obvious for Sawako's eyes that she was looking at a surfer's body.

"Sawako?" Terry's voice punched through the teacher's trance. "Were you going to say something? I'm done changing in any case." She jerked her head at the bathroom. "You could go ahead and get changed in there. I'll wait until you're ready." She went ahead and pulled on the boardshorts as Sawako entered the bathroom. A few minutes later, they were walking side by side down to the beach where they could see that a large umbrella loomed over a blanket laid out on the sand. Ritsu and Yui were already splashing around in the water while Mugi and Azusa played with an inflatable beach ball. Mio was sitting underneath the umbrella reading a book.

Sawako sighed and held the bottle of sunblock up in the air. "Azusa-chan! Did you put on any sunblock? You know you tan very easily!" She and Terry set their things on the blanket. While Terry settled down next to Mio who had looked up from her book and was now staring at the redhead. Sawako walked over to Azusa and handed her the bottle. "I got that especially for you," she told the youngest girl in the group then joined Mio and Terry momentarily. She took a beach towel and laid it out on the sand away from the shade of the umbrella. "I'm going to try to start on my tan. Don't mind me! Go and have fun!"

Terry took a deep breath and gazed at the sea before her. The beach she was on now could almost be one of the beaches she used to frequent back in California. The feel of the sand beneath her feet combined with the fresh air was already doing wonders for her. Her body was completely relaxed and she was quite happy as well. "Aren't you going to join them?" she asked Mio whom she caught still staring at her. It didn't really bother her that she was being stared at. She was actually used to it.

"In a little while," Mio said, turning away to hide the blush that stained her cheeks. A few minutes later, she left the shade of the umbrella and went to join her friends in the water.

The auburn-haired woman spent some time simply watching the girls have fun then decided that she should join Sawako as well in her tanning attempt. Moving out of the shade, she laid out a towel next to Sawako and dragged over a large cushion that was used to prop your back against. Leaning back against the cushion and stretching out her legs, she closed her eyes and let the wind caress her heated skin.

It was close to five in the afternoon when the girls woke them up. They were clamoring for the both of them to join them in the water. Terry got up and helped Sawako to her feet. "It would be a waste if we didn't get in the water at all for today," she remarked, running ahead of Sawako and diving into the waves. She resurfaced and waved for Sawako to join her. "Still trying to be elegant, huh?" Terry teased as Sawako entered the water in a more decorous manner.

"Shut up," Sawako snapped, splashing seawater onto Terry's face. "I don't fully trust the secureness of my bikini so if dove in like you did, there's a chance I might lose a piece or two of my bikini." She glared when Terry merely laughed at her reasoning. "Must you be so mean to me?"

"I'm not being mean," Terry argued back, still laughing. She ducked her head into the water to avoid another wave of water produced by Sawako. They played around with the girls for another hour or so before they all decided to get out of the water and head back to the house. After rinsing themselves off in the outdoor showers, they all hung around on the veranda with Mugi and Mio preparing the grill while Azusa, Ritsu and Yui prepared the ingredients.

Sawako joined them again on the veranda after doing some searching in the kitchen. "What?" she demanded, scowling at Terry who was shaking her head at her.

"You were wasted earlier today and you're going to drink again?" Terry raised her eyebrow at the jar of sake Sawako salvaged.

"Just a little bit!"

"A little bit meaning the whole jar," Terry scoffed, getting to her feet and taking the jar from Sawako's hands. "No drinking until tomorrow night. Give your kidneys a break, will you?" She headed back inside to hide the jar of sake.

Ritsu grinned. "Miffed that someone can force you to behave like that?" Seconds later, she was crying out in pain and whimpering apologies as she was trapped in a cobra twist submission move. It amazed the drummer and her band mates that Sawako was fairly knowledgeable about wrestling submission moves.

"I'm back!" Terry announced, strolling onto the veranda. "I hid the jar of sake as well as all the other alcoholic drinks I found." She simply smiled at Sawako who was giving her a bad look. "You can drink tomorrow night," she told the teacher, settling down in a chair and gazing at the darkening horizon.

Once they finished their dinner of grilled meat, vegetables and _onigiri,_ Mugi suggested that they all head to the heated bath pool and wash up. While the girls skipped ahead to get fresh clothes, Terry was slow to pick up the rear. Sawako hung back, wondering what was wrong. "We should hurry if we want to join them," she told the redhead as they collected their things.

Terry gave her a strange look and backed away. "Errr... I think I'll go search for another bathroom," she said, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

Sawako laughed. "What's wrong with you? We're just going to bathe!"

"Bathe together you mean," Terry muttered, wishing that Sawako would understand her predicament.

"Oh…" Sawako blinked at the slightly reddening face of the taller woman before her then tilted her head to the side. "I forget that most foreigners aren't used to public bathing." Still, she grabbed Terry's hand and with an amazing feat of strength, she dragged the reluctant American to the large bathroom. "You shouldn't be embarrassed! We're all girls after all!"

"B-But still!" Terry stuttered, her face was now the same shade of red as her hair. Her green eyes were wildly looking at everything else in the bathroom instead of the quite naked bodies of the Houkago girls. "I'd rather bathe alone!"

"What's wrong with Terry-san?" Yui asked, sitting on a stool and passing the showerhead over the front of her body.

"She's just being shy," Sawako cheerfully replied, pulling the redhead in and closing the door. "She's not used to bathing with other people."

"I can't help it!" Terry said defensively, turning her head away as Sawako slid off the sarong she wore and then loosened the ties of her bikini.

"But Terry-san, we're all girls!" Azusa impishly smiled at the former bassist. It was the first time they've seen her so flustered.

Sawako, devoid of clothing, nodded her head and put her discarded clothes into a basket. "You might as well get used to this now!" She turned around and grinned evilly at the taller woman who was already backing away. "I don't think so!" She pounced and with the speed and ferocity of a panther, she began pulling off Terry's boardshorts and swimsuit.

"H-Hey! Stop it!" Terry shouted, vainly trying to keep her clothes on. "A-Alright already!" she shouted, deeply embarrassed at what was happening to her.

Sawako backed away with her clothes and placed them into another basket. "There! Now that wasn't so bad, right?" She ignored the strange looks her students were giving her. She and the Houkago girls all looked rather expectantly at Terry who suddenly bolted for the large heated pool and jumped in. "I can see that you're still rather shy," Sawako mused, grinning to herself as Terry moved to the farthest corner and just sat there submerged up to her neck.

"Sawa-chan is definitely wild," Ritsu whispered to Mio while sitting next to each other on the other end of the pool. "I didn't think she'd go as far as stripping Terry-san."

Mio shrugged. "Maybe she was trying to tease her again," she guessed.

"So what if I was," Sawako revealed with a grin. "I can never tire from flustering you girls!" She then winked at Terry who was still cowering in the corner of the pool. "And you as well," she told the redhead whose blush hadn't faded.

"Terrorizing people isn't exactly a good pastime," Terry muttered, still very conscious about her nakedness.

"You're exaggerating," Sawako meekly replied, slipping into the heated pool with a sigh. She settled down and leaned back against the wall, propping her arms along the edge of the pool. "A few cups of sake would make this feel better."

"Don't count on it," Terry muttered, the warm water was starting to make her relax and make her forget about her embarrassment. She needed to clean her hair and body so she soothed her frayed nerves and got out of the pool. Without looking at any of the women around her, she settled herself into a stool and began the arduous task of shampooing her hair and soaping her body.

"Ehhh… Terry-san's pretty gifted!" Yui had suddenly appeared at the surfer's side and was leaning over.

"G-Gifted?" Terry stammered, soon realizing what the lead guitarist was talking about.

"She's modestly sized for someone with that height though," Sawako remarked, looking over her shoulder to watch the both of them. She let out a yearning sigh. "How I wish I could grow some more. I'd be happy with an increase in cup size."

Yui grinned. "They're bigger than mine and Ui's!" she informed her band mates who were all chuckling.

"Yui-chan, you're embarrassing Terry-san," Mugi told her with an amused smile.

"If I start working out more, maybe I could get a body like that!" Yui told no one in particular after getting a very personal look at Terry's body.

"Errr… thanks I guess." Terry hurriedly rinsed away all the shampoo and soap, abruptly stood up and headed back to her corner in the pool.

Sawako let out a laugh. "Are you sure you want to stay there all alone?"

"Quite sure," Terry replied.

"We'll just come to you then!" The teacher paddled across the pool and settled in next to the very stiff Terry. "What?" she demanded as Terry shrunk back.

"I think I understand how Mio and the others feel," Terry admitted reluctantly. "Right now, I am very anxious and I'm half expecting you to harass me."

Sawako scrunched her face up. "It's beneath me to do that."

"Then why do you do it to us?" Mio demanded, pulling away her damp hair that stuck to her shoulders. "That's a double standard!" she accused their former club supervisor.

"It's different," Sawako replied in a flat voice, unwilling to explain herself any further.

"You're still purposely making me feel uncomfortable," Terry accused her friend. Her eyes kept glancing at the inches of space that separated their bodies from each other. She preoccupied herself instead by watching the steam float up to the ceiling.

"That's quite a cool looking tattoo." Water swished around them as Sawako tried to get a better view of Terry's back.

Not wanting her to stand up and give a good view of her body, Terry moved forward and simply presented her back to her friend. "You weren't there when I told the girls how I got it," she murmured, stiffening slightly when she felt gentle fingers press against her back. Taking a calming breath, she continued, "It was a band activity that all of us went through. Miles and Kelly decided that we should an interconnecting tattoo. It was also the subject of our first album's art." She felt shivers run down her spine as Sawako's fingers lightly traced the scale pattern of the serpent.

"If you look at it from afar, you'd think it was just an individual tattoo." Sawako pulled her hand away and let Terry lean back once more against the wall.

"Did it hurt, Terry-san?" Ritsu asked, swimming over with the rest of her band mates.

Trying not to think about that she was surrounded by naked women, Terry said, "It was mostly uncomfortable, but it did get painful afterwards. The skin on my back was quite swollen for a number of days."

"Mio-senpai, is it me or are you getting a little bit chubby?" Azusa asked innocently, suddenly changing the topic.

The bassist squeaked and wrapped her arms around her body. "Azusa! How could you? I've been trying to stick to my diet!" she cried out. "Have I really gotten chubby?"

Yui tipped her head from one side to the other as she looked closely at Mio. "There's something definitely different, but I don't think it's because you've gained weight," she said slowly.

Ritsu sighed, pinching the skin on her waist. "Summer hasn't really been good to me when it comes to weight." She let go of her skin and also took the time to look at Mio. "I don't think it has something to do with gaining weight, Mio."

"Then what is it?" Mio demanded, feeling Mugi come closer as well.

Sawako suddenly smiled, garnering the attention of Terry who decided to remain silent. Stealthily, she moved away from Terry's side and sneaked into a position behind Mio. "I have a pretty good idea what your problem is although I don't really think it is a problem." Her announcement made the girls freeze in place while her hands snaked around Mio's body and cupped her breasts.

"N-NO!" Mio cried out, her struggling proving to be futile as their mentor felt and squeezed her breasts. She was about to scream once more when she felt the hands pull away. She sniffled and swiped at the forming tears in her gray eyes as she twisted around to face Sawako.

Sawako merely grinned and flashed a thumbs-up sign at Mio. "Congratulations!" she said in a cheerful voice. "It looks like your breasts have gotten bigger!"

"Eh?" The Houkago girls gasped and looked at each other in shock and disbelief.

"I already had an idea that you grew after seeing you earlier in your bikini, Mio-chan," Sawako explained herself, winking at Terry who looked absolutely horrified at what she just did. "Of course, I wasn't sure and the only sure way to find out if you did grow was to physically measure you. They're certainly fuller than the last time I was able to do it."

Before any of the college students could speak their mind, they heard the familiar sound of water being displaced and turned just in time to see Terry removing herself from the pool. "I was starting to feel a little lightheaded," Terry told them as she collected her clothes basket and headed to the adjacent changing room.

"Looks like you scared her off again, Sawa-chan," Ritsu remarked.

"I think the more pressing matter is what she just did to me!" Mio also extracted herself from the pool and went to gather her clothes. "Seriously Sawa-chan!"

Sawako sighed and ran her fingers through her wet hair. "I guess I'll have to apologize," she decided, exiting the pool and taking her things as well. She walked past Mio who was looking at her expectantly. "Of course I meant apologizing to Terry."

"What? That's unfair!" Her protest was unheard since Sawako had already gone to the changing room.

After she had changed into a loose sleeveless shirt and very colorful boxer shorts, Sawako searched the house for Terry. She had gone through all the rooms and was about to give up when she caught a glimpse of fiery red hair sitting along the rail of the veranda outside and leaning back against an intricately designed wooden post. She approached quietly and leaned her arms against the railing not occupied by Terry's legs. "Still feeling lightheaded?"

"Nah. The fresh air is doing me a lot of good." They were both silent, relegating themselves to watching the rhythmic crashing of the waves against the beach. "There's no need for you to apologize, you know," Terry finally said, breaking the silence. "I know I shouldn't be as surprised anymore since we've known each other for some time now, but you always manage to catch me off guard." She sighed and sifted her hair with her long fingers.

"I should really try to control myself when I'm around you," Sawako said, letting a small grin form on her face. "For a moment, I thought that I had gone overboard and really scared you off."

"I've met more eccentric people," Terry assured the older woman with a smile of her own. "Unlike you, they're the ones who always manage to scare me off." They both chuckled and enjoyed each other's company. "Are the girls practicing?" she asked, swinging her legs down and letting them hang.

"Probably," Sawako replied with uncertainty. "Knowing Ritsu and Yui, they'd probably be whining about going to sleep instead of practicing." She straightened and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "Want to check on them?" She watched as Terry jumped off the rail.

"Lead the way." Terry gestured ahead of them then followed the shorter woman back into the house. Hearing music from down the hall, it was a bit of a surprise that they were actually practicing. They entered the studio just as the girls wrapped up the song. "Doing well so far?" she asked Mio who nodded her head.

"Pretty much," Mio said, taking a gulp from her water bottle. "Aside from knocking these two around-" she pointed at the sheepish guitar-drummer duo. "-it sounds like our performance hasn't dipped despite the lack of practice." She glanced over at Mugi who adjusting the settings of her KORG. "What song should we do next, Mugi-chan?"

"Play one of your individual songs," Sawako suggested, noticing that Terry didn't seem to understand. "They all wrote their own songs, but they never really play it at their gigs."

"It's embarrassing!" Ritsu pointed out, drumming a simple beat. "And in my case, it's difficult to sing a song while playing the drums at the same time. Sure I could do it, but I'm very prone to messing up."

Terry let out a low whistle of admiration. "So each of you have composed and written your own song?"

"Songs actually," Sawako clarified. "They each have a couple or so songs under their names." She rubbed her chin in thought then gestured at Mugi and Azusa. "Since Ritsu doesn't want to sing, how about we hear either Mugi or Azusa then?"

"I vote for Azu-nyan!" Yui exclaimed.

"Yui-senpai!" The blue-haired girl almost dropped her Fender Mustang guitar.

"But Azu-nyan! We haven't heard you sing in a while and I really want to hear your cute voice!"

Azusa blushed and nervously ran her fingers along the strings of her guitar. "I suppose it's okay with me," she murmured, doing a last minute adjustment to the tuning. "Ummm... let's go with 'Jajauma Way To Go'."

"No problem!" Ritsu twirled her drumsticks then started clapping them together. "One, two, three, four!"

Terry and Sawako watched the performance silently though the latter could not help but smile and gush about how cute Azusa was especially if she wore cat ears. Terry on the other hand had once again gone into a serious state of mind as she listened carefully to the song. She stayed that way until the end where she nodded her head in approval after the girls all looked to her for her critique.

"After hearing that song, I can already say that your band is quite versatile," she told the group who was listening attentively. "I'm assuming that each of you have your own style of music and singing, which makes your repertoire larger and better than expected." She directed her gaze at Azusa. "You sing well. You've got a powerful voice and you put a lot of fun into the song when you sing."

"Thank you," Azusa gratefully replied with a bow of her head.

Sawako clapped her hands. "Alright! How about we let Mugi have a go?"

They were halfway through the song Mugi named 'Dear My Keys' when Terry felt and heard her iPhone ringing and vibrating in her pocket. She mouthed a quick apology to the girls and held the phone up to see who was calling. Emerald green eyes widened as she read the name and saw that it was a video call. Looking into the screen, she received the call and smiled at the familiar face gazing back at her.

"_Where are you? Are you at a concert or something? It's noisy over there!"_

Terry laughed and shook her head. "More like band practice," she told the woman on the screen. "You don't look so good, Justine. Work tiring you out?"

"_It's the jetlag,"_ the model replied, rubbing her tired blue-gray eyes. _"We've been travelling to different time zones and it's officially messed up my body clock. Work just makes it worse." _

Terry took a moment to really look at her friend and former band mate. Justine Hughes had always been beautiful with her midnight black hair that flowed just past her shoulders, a perfectly chiseled face that tapered down nicely to her chin, a delicate nose and sensuous lips. Her body had often been described as the most sought out body by both men and women. She was slightly shorter than Terry, but towered over her whenever she wore heels. Even the dark circles under Justine's eyes could never mar her beauty. "You could always quit, you know."

Justine rolled her eyes, joggling her iPhone and making the video shaky. _"Sorry, I was sitting down. What's with this band practice then? Are you with those girls Miles told me about?"_

"Yeah. They invited me along to their annual summer training camp," Terry replied. "I'm at a private beach in Hyuga City. It's supposedly one of the best surfing spots here in Japan."

"_Figured you'd come along because of the surfing._" Justine sighed and rubbed her eyes once more. _"I'm in Germany right now. We just flew in from Russia to continue the fashion show. We were told to rest up for the next event, but my body is just too messed up. I suddenly remembered you when I heard one of our songs playing in the hotel's bar."_

Terry smiled. "I'm glad that you called me," she sincerely told her friend. "By the way, I saw this online gossip blog article a little over a week ago." She gave her sweetest smile as Justine scowled, knowing what Terry was getting to. "You really should be wary of those girls you have trysts with. Haven't you noticed the pattern yet? They grovel at your feet then the one-night stand then your name suddenly appears all over the internet."

Justine shrugged. _"I can't ignore my urges, Terry."_

"Just find a steady girlfriend so that you can avoid all the gossip columns."

"_You forget that there's no such thing as a steady girlfriend for a travelling model… a female model specifically," _Justine wearily reminded. She looked past Terry and saw the group of girls playing their instruments. _"I have to admit that they look cute though."_

Terry laughed. "Off limits, Justine," she told her friend. "They're not the type who are fine with your no-strings-attached approach to love life. Besides, I haven't gotten that feeling yet with them."

"_Your gaydar might be rusty."_

"We've known each other for nearly seven years now and I've certainly spent enough time with you to sense if the people I'm with are just like you."

"Terry! Help me convince Ritsu to sing a song!" Sawako asked suddenly.

"_Who's that?"_

"Sawako," Terry replied, quickly flipping the phone over so that Justine could have a look at the bespectacled brunette. "She's the former club adviser, current mentor and friend of the girls."

"_I would like an introduction."_ Justine's blue-gray eyes gleamed with interest.

"If you happen to pass by here in Japan, I'll think about introducing her to you," Terry teased.

"_I'll hold you to that. Anyway, I have to hang up. I've got a few hours left of rest to salvage. It was nice talking to you, Terry."_

"I'll talk to you soon, Justine." Terry ended the call and pocketed her phone.

"Who was that?" Sawako asked while holding the struggling Ritsu in a choke hold.

"Ah…" Terry rubbed the back of her neck. "That was Justine."

"The drummer of your band, right?" Mio sat on the floor and cradled her bass guitar.

The surfer nodded her head. "She was just calling to check up on me," she explained to the group. "She's been involved in a cross-country fashion show, which is really tiring her out because of all the travelling required. Right now, she's in Germany."

"I'd like to travel like that too someday!" Mio dreamily said.

"Maybe when we're famous enough, we could do a world tour!" Azusa bent down to examine Yui's guitar. "Your strings are starting to rust, Yui-senpai. Did you bring any new strings?" She oversaw and guided her senpai in changing her guitar strings.

"Mugi-chan probably won't enjoy travelling around the world with us if that ever happens," Yui remarked. "I'm sure Mugi will have travelled everywhere by then."

Mugi raised her hands in front of her and shook her head. "Of course not! As long as I'm with all of you, I'd enjoy travelling wherever this band and our music takes us. Besides, Finland is the only country I usually go to since my mom is from there."

"I was wondering why you had blond hair and blue eyes," Terry mused. "Your mother is a European."

"Yes," Mugi replied with a smile. "But I was raised here in Japan."

"Sawa-chan!" Ritsu gasped. "I can't breathe! Please let go of me! I'll sing! Promise!" She heaved in huge breaths of air to refill her lungs when Sawako released her. After rubbing her neck, Ritsu took her fallen drumsticks from the floor. "Just to warn you ahead of time, don't expect my drumming to be perfect since I'll be singing at the same time," she told Terry who nodded her head in understanding. "Girly Storm Shissou Stick!" she shouted.

Terry leaned against the wall and listened to the very energetic song. It really amazed her on how talented these girls really are. Sure, they were still a little raw, but with the right management, they'd be a big hit in Japan for sure. Hell, they might even get an audience in America. The Korean pop groups were certainly making a mark in the American music industry so it shouldn't really be a problem for them to go professional. She bit back a grin as Sawako pounced immediately when Ritsu messed up her drumming. It was also astounding that Ritsu could sing and play the drums remarkably well. She really wished she could do something to jump start their career, but there was only so much she could do. Besides, she had her studies and her business to prioritize. Still, what she was doing now, listening and giving her critiques, was certainly enough for now.


	6. Lessons

_Chapter 6: "Lessons"_

Terry slowly opened her eyes to a heavy weight on her chest. Light seeped through the blinds of the large bedroom, making abstract patterns against the furniture and futons spread on the floor. Fumbling for her iPhone, she raised it over her face and saw that it was nearly eight in the morning. What time did they sleep last night? Placing her phone next to her, she rubbed her still sleepy eyes. She was having trouble breathing because of the weight she felt on her chest. Raising her head up, she realized what was causing her discomfort. She had not noticed the night before that Sawako decided to sleep in the futon next to her. Sometime earlier, Sawako must have unintentionally flung her hand towards Terry's body and let it settle atop her chest. Careful not to wake the teacher up, Terry moved the hand off her chest and got up quietly. She picked her way through the strewn sleeping bodies on the floor, exited the bedroom and headed to the kitchen.

To her pleasure, she saw a coffee maker, filters, packs of various coffee blends and beans, a grinder, sugar and cream all laid out on the counter. Terry found it slightly strange that someone had laid it out after all she had not seen any of the so-called staff that Mugi mentioned. Shrugging the thought away, Terry looked through the packs of coffee blends and beans. It was the Barako coffee beans that caught her eye. Her usual supply of coffee beans back in California had always been Arabica, but she had developed a taste for the Barako coffee beans after sampling it at a party hosted by Miles' girlfriend. She liked the strong taste and drew pleasure from Kate's happiness that she was helping a dying Barako coffee industry back in her home country.

Opening the small bag, she was assaulted by the pungent aroma of the beans. She roughly measured a number of beans that would convert to a few tablespoons and dumped them into the grinder. After giving it a few pulses and checking that she didn't grind the beans too finely, she dumped the ground coffee into a filter and placed it in the coffee maker. She placed a couple of cups of water then turned on appliance, settling herself at the table afterwards for a short wait. "It's a good day to surf," Terry said to herself, looking through the large glass sliding doors and seeing the abundance of good waves. The coffee maker beeped once signaling that it was done brewing. Terry liked drinking her coffee black though in this case, she added just a little bit of sugar. She let the pleasing smell waft into her nostrils before taking a careful sip of the hot beverage, sighing in pleasure.

"Morning…" Azusa sleepily trudged into the kitchen.

"Morning Azusa-chan," Terry greeted her with a smile. "Why are you up early?" She gestured at the pot of coffee and poured Azusa a cup when the blue-haired girl nodded to the unspoken suggestion. She leaned against the counter, holding on to her own cup as she watched the youngest girl in the group add cream and sugar to her coffee.

Azusa covered a yawn with her hand. "I woke up because Yui-senpai was making my futon cramped." She sipped from her cup and sat down at the table. "You're up early as well, Terry-san," she remarked sleepily.

"Similar circumstances woke me," Terry said with a smile, explaining how Sawako's hand weighed heavily on her chest earlier. "Yui seems very fond of you."

"That's an understatement, Terry-san," Azusa said with a grin.

"Oh? She's very affectionate towards you."

"I guess it's partly because I was her kohai back in high school. She was the one who was particularly happy when I joined the club. I was also one of her guitar teachers too so her developed affection for me couldn't be avoided." Azusa shuddered suddenly. "I just wish she didn't smother me so much. It gets uncomfortable and awkward especially when she does it in public."

"At least you know that she cares a lot about you," Terry told the blue-haired girl. "You really do tan easily, huh? I know Sawako gave you some special sunblock, but you still tanned quite a bit even if we were just at the beach for a couple of hours."

Azusa blushed and toyed with her cup. "It's a talent I guess," she shyly said. "I don't really look at it as a tan though. It's more like turning lobster red and it's not at all nice to look at." She let out a disappointed huff. "Yui-senpai and the others hardly even tan at all no matter how hard they try so I guess it balances out." Both she and Terry turned their heads as Mio and Ritsu shuffled into the kitchen.

"Morning Azusa-chan," Mio greeted, pulling the half-asleep Ritsu to the table and making her sit down. "Morning Terry-san," she greeted the redhead with a smile.

"Morning to the two of you."

"Is that coffee? Can I have a cup?" Mio asked.

Terry took charge and poured two cups of coffee for the newly wakened girls. "The other two still asleep?"

Mio nodded. "Yui and Sawa-chan are sleepyheads." The bassist poked the drummer seated beside her who didn't even flinch from the contact. "Ritsu here is a close second."

"Where's Mugi-senpai?" Azusa asked.

"She wasn't in the room when Ritsu and I left." Mio added more cream to her coffee then started on the task of fully waking up her best friend. "Ritsu! Wake up already! We have to make breakfast!"

The drummer gurgled and mumbled incomprehensible things in reply. Not even her head banging against the table's surface woke her up.

"Leave her be, Mio-chan." Mugi joined them at the kitchen looking quite fresh for that morning. "She's bound to wake up once we start cooking the food. Even she can't resist the needs of her stomach." The blonde opened the refrigerator and handed out ingredients to Azusa. "Omelet and rice, anyone?"

"That's fine," Mio replied, reaching up into a cupboard and pulling out a couple of frying pans.

"Do you happen to have any cereal and milk?" Terry asked politely, refilling her cup of coffee.

Mugi walked into the pantry and came back out holding a couple of boxes of cereal. "Will these do?" She placed the boxes on the table and held back a laugh when Mio finally managed to wake Ritsu with a fist to her head. "There's milk in the refrigerator, Terry-san."

"Thanks. Cereal is my usual breakfast food." Grabbing the carton of milk from the refrigerator, she then dumped whole grain cereal into a bowl and doused it with a general helping of milk. She was finishing her second bowl when Sawako and Yui joined them just as the others finished cooking.

"_Ohayo…"_ Sawako sleepily greeted them then located herself to a vacant seat at the table. "It's still too early! I could use a few more hours of sleep!" She rested her head against the table and closed her eyes.

"We have a whole day ahead of us to have fun, you know?" Terry poked the teacher playfully. "We're lucky today. The waves are ideal for surfing even for beginners."

Sawako grimaced. "I don't think that's really going to help us learn how to surf."

Terry just laughed. "You have an experienced surfer to guide you so there shouldn't be a problem not unless you don't know how to swim, which I highly doubt." She brought her dishes to the sink and started to wash them as well as the used pans. "Let's meet up at the beach at around ten? I'm going to get changed and check on the equipment." She placed the dishes in the drying rack then left the kitchen at a jog.

Ritsu yawned and stretched her arms up to the ceiling. "She's really excited to have a go at the waves today."

"It's kind of cute that way," Mugi pointed out with a smile.

"Cute, but definitely not as cute as my Azu-nyan!" Yui waved her fork around in the air for emphasis.

"Yui-senpai! Please!"

"But Azu-nyan, I'm just being honest!"

Sawako shook her head ruefully. Already, her former students were making a ruckus so early in the morning. "In any case, let's finish up with breakfast, take some time to digest then meet up with Terry at the beach."

After cleaning up, a lengthy discussion about what to wear to the beach for that day, and a quick nap on the part of Yui, the college students and their mentor trooped out of the house and headed down to the beach. It was easy to spot Terry not only because of her red hair, but because of the number of surfboards that surrounded her. Getting closer, they realized that the redhead must have been out there for quite some time because of the light sweat that sheened her body. They also saw unknown containers, towels, and a comb-like tool.

"What are you doing, Terry-san?" Yui asked after stowing their things underneath the umbrella. She and her friends all wore their rash guards with the exception of Sawako who opted to carry hers.

Terry looked up from her task of rubbing surfwax on the shortboard loaned to her. "Just prepping up the surfboards," she cheerfully told the ever curious Yui, who was now holding up a container of the wax.

"Wax? Isn't it going to make it more difficult to stay on the board?"

Terry shook her head. "This is wax especially made for surfboards and on the contrary, it's going to keep you from slipping off." She gestured at the three longboards, which she finished waxing earlier. "Feel the surface."

Yui did so and looked surprised. "It's not what I expected. I thought it would be slippery."

Terry nodded, doing the finishing touches on her shortboard and wiping her hands on a towel. "Anyway, it's all ready." She turned to Mugi and said, "One of your staff brought over six longboards, but I requested for just three. It would have taken longer for me to prep all the surfboards. Plus, at best I can only teach three of you at a time."

"I'm first!" Ritsu shouted, grabbing a jungle green longboard and was about to haul it down to the water when Terry stopped her.

"Woah! We're not going into the water yet!"

"Why not?" the drummer demanded.

"There are a number of things you need to know first," Terry patiently explained. "Now, who else is going to join this first batch?" Once she had Mio and Yui join Ritsu, she brought them to a flat stretch of beach and instructed them to lay out their boards on the sand. "First question, are all of you good swimmers?" She watched them nod their heads in reply. "Better be telling me the truth," she warned them. "The sea can be dangerous and many surfers have drowned in the past."

"We're good enough swimmers, Terry-san," Ritsu assured the surfer.

"Alright… I'll be able to gauge how well you swim once we get in the water." She stood in front of her students. "Next question, regular or goofy foot?"

"Huh?"

Terry sighed and had the girls stand on their boards. "We have to figure out what your stance is on the board. It's easy enough to find out." She gently pushed each girl enough so that they would put either foot forward to catch their balance. "As expected, Yui and Ritsu are regular footed while Mio is goofy footed." Next she had them lie face down on their boards and taught them the proper way to paddle. Once she was satisfied, she then taught them how to pop up or stand on their surfboard from a lying position. It took a few tries for each of the girls to do it properly. As a last pre-surf lecture, she taught them about the type of waves and briefly explained what waves could be surfed on. "It'll be easier to explain in the water," Terry informed them, taking her shortboard and leading the way.

"We're not going too far out are we?" Mio asked nervously.

"We'll stay close to the shore," Terry replied, paddling out to sea and checking if her students were right behind her. Once they were at a good spot, she had them steer their longboards around then waited for a particular good wave to arrive. While they waited, the redhead went back to explaining how to tell which waves could be surfed on. She told them to wait for what looked to be like a solid chunk of white water and to start paddling towards the shore before the wave reaches them. "Once you feel like you're being carried by the wave, you pop up to your feet. Try to stay in a low crouching position. A low center of gravity gives you more balance and stability on the board."

"How about a demo first, Terry-san?" Yui held on to the sides of her board and tried her best to not flip over.

Terry scanned the horizon and spotted a number of potential waves. "Sure," she decided, positioning herself several feet away from the girls and waited for the next wave to reach her. Raising her voice, she said, "See the whitewater? Start paddling towards the shore before it reaches you!" She did just that and felt the familiar surge catch her board. "Then when the wave has caught you, you pop up-" in one motion, she got her feet under her. "-stay low, keep your balance and just ride!" She let the wave carry her for a few moments then dove into the water. "Who wants to have a go?" she asked after she swam back to the girls.

"Me! Me!" Ritsu confidently followed the play-by-play instructions of Terry and was delighted when she caught her first wave. Unfortunately, instead of popping up to her feet, she ended up on her knees. She completely lost her balance and wiped out.

"Remember, it has to be one quick motion," Terry told Ritsu with a smile.

"It's harder than I thought," Ritsu sputtered out water.

"My turn!" Yui paddled forward and positioned herself with a sense of determination.

It took several tries and about an hour before Terry finally witnessed the three girls successfully get on their feet and surf their way back towards the shore. They had a few more goes with Terry supervising them before they decided to head back to shore and take a break.

"Still a little wobbly, but with practice, you'd feel more comfortable standing on the board," Terry told her first batch of students with a proud smile. "You did well for beginners."

Mio grinned as they laid their boards out on the sand. "We had a good teacher after all."

"If you happen to decide to go surfing on your own, stick with the small waves," Terry firmly told the college students. "It takes months and even years of practice before you can actually tackle a real wave."

"Yes Terry-san!" the girls chorused, finding positions underneath the shade of the umbrella.

"Want anything to drink?" Sawako asked, patting the blanket next to her.

Terry smiled and sat next to the brunette. "A cool drink would be nice," she replied, thanking the teacher who handed her a cold bottle of water. "It's hot." The redhead pulled her rash guard off and hung it along the back of a lounge chair. She leaned back against her hands, tilted her head back and greedily drank her water.

"Are you tired from giving lessons?"

Terry shook her head. "Not really although that's not the case for Yui, Ritsu and Mio." She jerked her head at the three girls whose bodies were sprawled out on the blanket. "Surfing can be a demanding sport." She drank the rest of her water and got to her feet. "Shall I teach you how to surf?" She held out her hand to Sawako who smiled back up at her.

"Can't wait to learn," the teacher answered, taking hold of Terry's hand and let herself be pulled up to her feet. Donning their rash guards, Sawako along with Azusa and Mugi followed Terry. They went through the same pre-surf lessons then paid close attention to Terry after they got into the water. This time around, it took even longer for any of the second batch to successfully stand on their boards. Terry spent more than two hours helping the three women, but by the time they decided they needed a break, only Azusa had managed to stand albeit shakily on her board.

Sawako wrung the seawater from her long brown hair after setting their boards on the beach. "I don't think I have enough balance to surf," she admitted gloomily to Terry who was pulling off her rash guard.

"You just need a little more practice," Terry assured the older woman with a smile. "Spend a little more time with me in the water and I'll be sure to have you surf your first wave." She glanced at Mugi and Azusa to gauge their reactions. Mugi didn't seem overly disappointed since she kept congratulating Azusa for the small success she had in surfing.

Sawako sighed and looked out at the sea, noticing that the wind was starting to pick up. "I think I'll pass. Besides, the waves look like they're getting bigger so I doubt that'll help me." She twirled around dramatically and gave a pose. "I may not be good at surfing, but at least I still have a nice body to boot!" She thrust her hip out for emphasis and winked at Terry who laughed in reaction. Her stomach made an audible growl. "I think we're due for some lunch."

Terry gestured higher up the beach. "I think Yui and Mio have already gotten things underway." True enough, Yui, Mio and Ritsu were setting platters of food on a table they must have dragged down from the veranda. "Shall we sate that stomach of yours then?"

Grinning, the teacher playfully held her arm out. "I give you permission to escort me then!" It was mostly meant as a joke, but she couldn't help but feel a little surprised when Terry gamely linked their arms together.

Terry grinned as she led Sawako towards the college students who were already starting to eat their lunch.

They spent the rest of the afternoon doing various activities. While Sawako spent most of the time working on her tan, the Houkago girls alternated between tanning and playing in the water. Given some time to herself, Terry headed out farther into the sea to catch bigger waves. She spent almost two hours enjoying herself atop her surfboard and hardly noticed the awed looks and cheers she was getting from her small audience. The exhilarating feel of dropping into a wave thrilled the blood in her veins. She trudged back onto the shore carrying her surfboard just as the sun was dipping past the horizon. Together, they trooped back into Mugi's mansion and with some hesitation on the part of Terry, entered the large bath. As expected, Sawako did what she could to tease the redhead who once again blushed throughout the duration of the bath. Yui and Ritsu were quick to join in teasing the former bassist and were more than delighted when their tag team managed to make Terry turn almost as red as her hair. Even with Mio and Azusa trying to keep the situation from escalating, they couldn't ease Terry's embarrassment. While Mio scolded her two band mates, Sawako just chuckled in amusement as she watched Terry mumble out an excuse and leave the bath ahead of them.

Dinner was a rather short event that night mostly due to Mio and Azusa's insistence that they use up the remaining hours of the day to practice. As expected, Yui and Ritsu whined of being too tired and sleepy, but their complaints went unheard as they were dragged by Mio and Azusa towards the studio.

"Mio, come here for a minute," Terry called the bassist over to the studio's corner.

"What is it, Terry-san?" Mio sat on the floor next to the American.

"I just want to go over your technique," Terry replied with a smile.

"Oh! Will you teach me new stuff?"

Terry smiled and shook her head. "Well, we'll have to see first if there's anything else I could teach you. Based on what I've seen and heard, you're already a good bassist. Good foundation and no bad habits so far." She urged Mio to play and watched intently. "Your pizzicato has no obvious problems," she observed.

"Pizzicato?"

"Ah, it's what you call the technique where you pluck strings with your fingers," Terry explained. "I did notice that you just use your index and middle fingers though. Have you ever tried to play with more fingers?"

Mio shook her head. "Most of the bass riffs I play for our songs don't require more than two fingers," she admitted.

Terry nodded her head in understanding. "That's reasonable," she decided the held up her index, middle and ring fingers. "I play with these three most of the time, but I use my thumb too when I play more complicated riffs. Try experimenting though. It would most likely help when you girls decide to do more complicated pieces."

"What other techniques do you use?" Mio asked, suddenly curious. "I know you sometimes used a pick to play sometimes."

Terry smiled and reached into her pocket. She brought out a simple wallet and dangling on a nylon strap was a well-used black pick. It used to be a shiny black color but years of use had dulled it and there were scratches grooved into it. "There were only a couple of songs where I used a pick," Terry explained as she took the pick and handed it to Mio. "It was easier to do more articulate attacks."

"How long have you had this?" Mio cradled the pick in her hands with utmost reverence.

Terry scratched her chin. "Well, I bought it when Miles and Kelly gave me my first bass guitar so I think it's been about seven or eight years." She tapped the pick lying in Mio's palm. "I could have bought something more stylish, but I settled for just a plain black one."

"The Flame Bassist's pick…" Mio murmured, still gazing almost lovingly at it.

Terry smiled in amusement as she reached over and closed Mio's fingers on top of the pick. "Keep it," she said.

Mio's head snapped up. "I-I can't accept this!"

"Why not?"

"It was your first pick!" Mio argued, her face flushed from the grand gesture coming from Terry. "You've had it for almost ten years!"

Terry shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a pick. Sure, I've had it for a long time, but I think it's rather shallow of me to have attachment issues over it." She smiled reassuringly at the Houkago Tea Time bassist. "The look on your face was enough of a reason for me to give it to you. Besides, it's better off being used by a up and coming bassist compared to one that's washed up."

"You're not washed up!"

"Maybe, but it's yours if you want it," Terry replied.

Mio paused and took a long moment thinking about it. After a couple of minutes of deep thought, she looked up at Terry, her gray eyes bright. "Thank you… I'll treasure it forever!" She clutched the pick against her chest and struggled to master her emotions.

"That's a far greater compliment that I can ever expect from you." The redhead reached over and patted Mio's head. "Now, let's get back to your playing technique. Are there others you can show me or tell me about?" She and Mio sat close to each other discussing bass playing techniques while Sawako supervised the other Houkago girls in their practice.

Mugi was quick to notice the strange look on Ritsu's face. "Ritsu, are you alright?"

"Hmmm? Oh! It's nothing! I was just thinking about something useless," the drummer quickly replied, anxiously twirling her drumsticks in her hands.

Yui tipped her head to the side in thought. "That didn't look like you were thinking about something useless," she pointed out. "You keep looking over at Mio-chan and Terry-san."

Ritsu impatiently banged her sticks against the tom-tom drums. "They're taking too much time! We're supposed to be practicing!" Scowling hard, she glanced once more at her best friend and Terry who were still conversing deeply about who knows what.

Azusa gave her senpai a strange look. "What's wrong with you, Ritsu-senpai?"

"Nothing…" Ritsu mumbled and suddenly got to her feet. "I'm going to grab something to drink in the kitchen," she decided, ignoring the strange and worried looks she was getting from her band mates. Even Mio looked up from her conversation with Terry when Ritsu stomped out of the studio.

Mio excused herself from the American woman and padded over to her band mates. "What happened? Is she alright?" She was worried in any case. It was rare for Ritsu to be angry or annoyed.

Mugi and Yui both looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "We're not entirely sure. It looked like she just blew a fuse," Yui answered.

"I think she was a little annoyed that we weren't practicing together as a group," Azusa remarked.

Mio looked appalled. "Why would she think that? She's the one who's always trying to end practice early and if she could she'd completely try to get out of it!" She let out a frustrated sigh as she pulled off her bass guitar and set it on a nearby stand. "I'll go talk to her. She's probably just having one of her useless episodes." She strode out of the studio leaving her bewildered band mates behind.

Sawako rubbed the back of her head and ordered the remaining band members to continue practicing. She knew it wasn't good for the band if fights would break out among them. Still, she was a little confused about Ritsu's sudden flare of her temper. It was strange enough for the easygoing drummer to even get angry. She was about to go check on the bassist and drummer when she caught Terry subtly calling her over. Intrigued, Sawako walked over to Terry who was waiting on the opposite side of the room. "What's up?"

Terry eyed Sawako for a moment then spoke her mind. "I shouldn't presume, but maybe you'd like to hear my theory about this matter."

"What matter?"

"Ritsu and Mio," Terry patiently replied.

"What about them? Ritsu's the one who's acting strangely," Sawako pointed out.

Terry smiled knowingly. "And I can guess why she's acting that way. Has she done something like this before?"

Sawako frowned. "Well… yes."

"Is my guess right when I say that it's largely because of jealousy?"

Sawako raised her eyebrows in surprise. "How did you know? The girls told me that Ritsu made a big fuss back in their sophomore year. Yui mentioned that it was because Ritsu felt a little neglected because Mio had gotten quite close to Nodoka." She shrugged her shoulders suddenly feeling unsurprised. "It's a best friend complex."

"Perhaps," Terry agreed.

"There's something else?" Sawako furrowed her eyebrows at the possibility. "I doubt it."

"After seeing what she did, there's a big possibility that my reasoning is logical."

"What else are you thinking then? Is Ritsu jealous that Mio is spending time with you?" Sawako guessed, realizing that Mio had shown a lot of interest and admiration for the American. "Mio can't help it that she admires you and it shouldn't be any of Ritsu's business."

"Not unless she feels threatened," Terry pointed out.

Sawako gaped at Terry. "What are you saying? Are you suggesting that…" she trailed off and shook her head. "No, it can't be. They're best friends!"

"Friendship can develop into something more, you know," Terry easily replied. "Justine told me the other night that my gaydar might be a little rusty, but after witnessing what happened earlier, I can say that I'm almost certain about my findings." She and Sawako stared at each other. "You can call me stupid, but I think Ritsu may be harboring feelings for Mio and that's why she reacted badly when Mio and I were talking."

Sawako shook her head. "It's not as farfetched, but I have my doubts."

"Trust me. Sooner or later, Ritsu won't be able to hold back and Mio is bound to figure out why best friend has these sudden bouts of jealousy. It's not completely right to say that she acts that way because they're best friends."

"You're quite the observer," Sawako remarked.

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment." She and Sawako went back to the band to help them practice.

* * *

It took her ten minutes before she finally found Ritsu. Mio heard her best friend was just going to get a drink in the kitchen, but she wasn't there when she looked. She thought that maybe the drummer was going to skip out on the rest of practice so she looked in their bedroom, but she wasn't there as well. By the time she decided to check outside, it was easy to spot the hazel haired drummer sitting on the porch steps leading down to the beach. Quietly walking over to her best friend, she stood a foot away from Ritsu and scowled.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Mio calmly asked, feeling miffed when Ritsu ignored her. "You must know that I find it very childish of you to be acting this way. I don't even know what's made you do that!"

"It's nothing," Ritsu grumbled, still staring at the sand beneath her feet.

"Nothing?" Mio demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think it's nothing."

"It's none of your business," Ritsu retorted angrily, refusing to look up at her best friend.

"What's wrong with you?" Mio glared at the drummer. "This better not be a petty matter for you to get so worked up!"

"Call it petty and even stupid! I don't care!" Ritsu deeply scowled. "Some best friend you are," she muttered. "Figures that you'd get angry instead of trying to understand," she continued, knowing that her words would hurt Mio. Since Mio didn't react, she started to push herself to her feet.

"Wait," Mio quietly said, placing a gentle hand on Ritsu's shoulder to stop her from leaving. When Ritsu settled back, she sat down next to her best friend and together, they gazed at the horizon. "Will you please tell me what's bothering you?" She sighed when Ritsu stayed silent. "We're best friends," she told the amber-eyed drummer. "You know that we'll always be best friends." Her gray eyes locked with those amber ones. "I want to listen and try to understand, okay? I'm a little annoyed that you'd think I wouldn't listen to you."

Ritsu sighed and looked away, feeling a little ashamed of herself. After all, she had acted childish. What could she do about it anyway? She couldn't help but feel jealous with the way Mio was spending a lot of time with Terry and pretty much made a fool of herself in front of the once famous bassist.

"Ritsu… Won't you speak up?"

"I'm just feeling a little…" Ritsu paused. "…neglected."

Mio covered a smile with her hand and cleared her throat to prevent herself from laughing. "Is that all?"

Ritsu's head snapped up. "That's all you can say?"

"Ritsu, I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Mio argued. "It's not like you to react badly just because you're feeling neglected."

"I reacted the same way when you and Nodoka-chan were getting really chummy," Ritsu retorted, seeing realization in Mio's eyes.

"Are you jealous of Terry-san?" Mio incredulously asked.

Ritsu frowned. "You keep ogling at her."

"Ritsu! Please! She's the Flame Bassist!"

"You're spending a lot of time with her and I saw her give that pick to you!"

"Does it really matter? I admire her because of her skill and talent!"

"You can admire her all you want then!" Ritsu retorted.

Mio opened her mouth to argue back, but she decided against it. "You know that I would never neglect you…" she softly told her best friend. "We've been together from preschool up to now. Why should this put a rift between us? It's not logical." She hesitantly put an arm around the shorter woman's shoulders. "No one can ever replace you as my best friend, Ritsu. That will never happen."

Ritsu stayed quiet as she mulled over what Mio just said. Perhaps she was being too childish. Mio was right in saying that nothing will ever get in between them. "Sorry," she finally murmured. "I was acting like a kid."

Mio smiled and fiercely embraced her best friend. "Try not to do that again," she told the drummer. "Next time you feel neglected, just tell me. A little best friend time can remedy anything after all." She and Ritsu chuckled then got to their feet. "Let's go back and practice okay?"

"You don't expect me to apologize to anyone, right?"

Mio thought about it. "I guess it's not needed. Just don't do that again, okay?" With their arms slung across each other's shoulders, they headed back to the studio and saw that everyone was still there with the exception of Terry. "We're back!" Mio announced as she went to reclaim her bass while Ritsu plopped into her seat behind the drum set.

"Everything okay?" Mugi asked.

Ritsu nodded. "No problem."

Azusa looked over at Yui who just smiled back at her. She knew that there was probably more to the dialogue, but she didn't bother asking. It looked like Mio was able to fix it in any case so she didn't have any reason to pry into the matter. "Shall we practice?" They all checked their instruments before deciding on a song to play.

Sawako suddenly yawned. "If it's alright, I'll leave you to your practice," she told her former students. "I'd like to have a couple of drinks then head to bed."

"Where is Terry-san anyway?" Mio asked.

"She decided to call it a day," Yui answered. "She's probably in the bedroom already."

"Don't drink too much, Sawa-chan," Ritsu told their former club supervisor.

"I never drink too much," Sawako retorted. "Good night girls!" She waved once then left the studio.

"Let's go with Fude Pen Boru Pen," Mio decided. "But I think Yui should do vocals this time."

"I'm good to go!" Yui pumped her fist up in the air and eagerly waited for Ritsu to give the starting signal.

With a deep breath, Ritsu raised her drum sticks in the air. "One, two, three, four!" As she and her band mates played one of their trademark songs, Ritsu couldn't help but let her mind wander. It was hard for her to admit, but she just couldn't stomach having to share Mio with anyone. Well, Mio had other friends, but she was the best friend after all. It was only right that she got the most attention… right? Shaking her head, she felt somewhat confused. Was it reasonable for her to be acting this way? She herself wasn't exactly sure why she reacted that way earlier. Something just pulled painfully within her when she saw how Mio acted when she was around Terry. Yes, it was admiration, but it just didn't sit well with her. She missed a beat and accidentally struck the metal edge of her tom-tom drums due to her distraction. "Sorry," she apologized to her band mates and quickly got back into beat. In any case, she decided that she didn't want to look stupid in front of Mio and her friends again. Still, it warmed her heart when Mio fervently told her that they would always be best friends and that no one could ever replace her or get in between them. That's what mattered… right?

* * *

"Caught you!" Terry grinned at Sawako who was just about to pull out a couple cans of beer. "I figured you were going to drink." She walked into the kitchen and ignored the scowl Sawako was giving her. "The girls doing alright?" she asked.

Sawako nodded and tossed a can of beer at Terry who caught it easily. "Looks like Mio was able to settle things down," she told the redhead as she pulled off the can's tab and took a long draught of her beer. "They can practice without me there."

"You're just saying that so that you could drink," Terry teased.

"You're drinking too!" Sawako accused her friend who already opened her can of beer. "I thought you were going to sleep!"

Terry grinned and shook her head. "I was, but then Miles called and made my sleepiness go away."

"Why did he call?" Sawako asked, sitting down next to the younger woman.

"Oh, he was just updating me about promoting one of our software programmers to a management position," Terry explained. "Miles and I handle all the administrative work, but I still do a lot of the programming. For a while, we did our own accounting, but it got complicated so we had to hire an accountant who also helps us with our marketing and sales."

"It must be really difficult to run your own company," Sawako mused, sipping her beer.

Terry shook her head. "It was difficult at first and I won't deny that it's still a bit difficult now, but we're doing quite well. Actually, we've already started on a new program we're hoping to release early next year."

"What kind of program?"

"A group of our programmers suggested that we create our own audio mixing program. They proposed to Miles and me that it's the next logical step since we could use some features of my Crimson Score program as a foundation." Terry grimaced as she drank her beer. "Technically, you can mix music using the Crimson Score program, but it was mostly made for scoring and music notation. Miles, our consultant and I figured that it's a good venture."

"Isn't it hard to compete with other well-known software developers who make the same programs?"

"It is, but we just need to market the product right and make sure that we can offer things that other programs can't," Terry replied. "We're still in the early stages of development in any case. I've been giving my input through the internet and the team sends me weakly prototypes."

"Your employees must love you," Sawako remarked.

Terry grinned. "I don't know if it goes to that extent, but they haven't made any complaints." She gulped down the rest of her beer and got herself a glass of water. "Miles and I try our best to keep our employees happy. We provide all the usual benefits and leaves and we try our best to take our employees to an out of town trip twice a year. That doesn't include the monthly dinners Miles and I host."

"Wow!" Sawako exclaimed. "You're quite generous!"

"We just believe that happy employees mean great performance," Terry replied easily. "Our consultant thinks we're spending unnecessarily, but he stopped complaining when he saw how well our employees have been performing. It also helped that Miles and I made the office as comfortable as possible. We avoided the whole Spartan look."

"So you're a liberal type of company president," Sawako guessed with a smile.

"You can say that," Terry agreed. "I just don't see how scaring and bullying your employees will get you anywhere."

"That's true! I know you were the one who decided to start the company, but why did Miles get involved?"

"For the lack of a better reason, let's just say that he was bored," Terry answered with a laugh. "Actually, he could have worked for his father's business. They have a customization shop for cars and it's quite popular with the upper class market."

"He didn't like it?"

"It's not that he didn't like it," Terry said. "He just wanted to try going off on his own. It's more like he didn't like the fact that there was already a job and money waiting for him so he decided to become my partner."

Sawako nodded thoughtfully. "It makes sense though," she told Terry. "I'd like to be independent as well before actually joining a family business." She was about to stand up and get another beer, but she decided against it when Terry frowned at her. "So much for another can of beer," she muttered. "Could you tell me more about your band mates?"

"What do you want to know? You know enough about Miles, I think."

"How did you meet the others? Did you all meet in college?"

Terry nodded, feeling nostalgic about talking about her college days. "We did meet in college. Miles was the first one I met because we became classmates in a basic math class during that first semester of our freshman year. We hit it off easily since he was such an easygoing guy. He has a great sense of humor too. He used to joke that he'd do anything to get a tan like I do." She drummed her fingers against the table surface as she thought about what to say next. "Kelly was the next person I got to know. He and Miles have been friends since high school and they lived in the same neighborhood before moving to California to attend college."

"You said that he's a physical therapist, right?" Sawako asked.

"That's right. Anyway, I met Kelly during Miles nineteenth birthday though it took some time before we finally got introduced." She chuckled at the memory. "He was being smothered by all the girls at the party until Miles finally dragged him over to introduce him to me. He may be a heart throb, but Kelly has always been quite shy when it came to girls. He and I were gym buddies back in college," she told Sawako.

Sawako smiled at how happily Terry told her about her past. "How about Justine?"

"Justine is actually a year older than us, but she decided to take a yearlong leave of absence during her freshman year. According to her, she was burned out from all the academics and needed a break. By the time Miles, Kelly and I became freshmen, Justine was back to start her freshmen year as well. It's strange to hear it, but Justine was majoring in Political Science. Miles had a political science subject so he met Justine there." She laughed suddenly. "Although, Justine didn't like Miles at first because he kept trying to flirt with her."

"She must be really beautiful being a model and all!"

Terry nodded. "She sure is and it wasn't surprising that Miles was trying his best to woo her back then. Kelly and I finally got to meet her when we rescued her from a flirting onslaught by Miles and a bunch of other guys who were also interested in her. Miles was feeling bad about hounding Justine and asked us to help him get Justine away from her other suitors so we did that by making a quick getaway in Kelly's car."

"Did Justine give Miles a chance because of what you guys did for her?"

Terry laughed and shook her head. "Hell no! Justine was grateful towards us, but that wasn't going to make her give Miles a chance. We barely knew each other then, but she was quite emphatic that she wasn't into guys," she told Sawako with a big grin on her face. "Miles was absolutely heartbroken, but the friendship we developed with each other outweighed it."

"It didn't bother you at all that she was a lesbian?"

Terry paused and thought about it. "Maybe I was a little bit shocked, but it's not such a big deal. Some people are just really close-minded and too religious in my opinion. It was awkward at first when Justine would bring a long a girlfriend and openly display her affection." She shrugged her shoulders. "You get used to it. Besides, being friends was the important thing."

"How'd a political science major become an international model?" Sawako tackled the question with obvious curiosity.

"Justine may not look like it, but she's very informed and up-to-date when it comes to politics. She's always found politics interesting and it's hard to keep up with her once she starts talking about it," Terry explained. "She reads the news all the time and it's not just the politics of America that she knows about, but she's knowledgeable about the politics of other countries as well." She swirled the water in her glass. "As for how she got into modeling, she was recruited. Justine has always had model looks and she's tall! Not as tall as I am, but it's a different story when she wears heels."

"I remember you saying that she isn't particularly enjoying her job."

"Well, the main reason she doesn't like it is because it requires a lot of work hours and traveling," Terry said. "Justine is quite… different and unexpected. As I said, she's interested in politics despite her good looks plus she's very laidback and lazy to some extent. She's basically a homebody," Terry continued with a small smile. "It was hard enough for us to get her to come out and eat lunch with us. She was content to stay cooped up in her apartment."

"Why did she agree to go into modeling then?" Sawako wondered.

"Her parents made a deal with her that once she graduated from college, she'd have to provide for herself. Sure, we had leftover money that we earned back when we were still a band, but it wasn't enough to live on." Terry stood up to throw her emptied can of beer and place her glass in the sink. "It's hard to find a job in America. It's even harder to find a job with a degree in political science and Justine was in need of money by the time a modeling agency approached her."

"So she took the job because it was necessary," Sawako guessed. "Hasn't she thought about finding another job that suits her?"

The computer programmer shook her head. "As much as she doesn't want to admit it, she's earning good money from the job and that's keeping her from leaving."

"I can certainly understand her reasons for doing so," Sawako replied. She knew that despite how attractive a certain job can be, there will always be a downside to it. Seeing that she had gleaned enough information from Terry about her former band mates, she decided to change subjects. "Are you planning to go back home to California? Like during the next break or something?"

Terry furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not too sure for the moment. The only real reason why I would go home is for business purposes."

"Wouldn't you want to go home to see your family?"

Terry gave her a grim smile. "You forget that I'm not exactly in good terms with them," she reminded her friend.

Sawako shook her head. "But I thought you weren't in good terms with your father's second wife."

Terry sighed and cracked her knuckles. "That's only a small part of the bigger problem," she replied. "While my father does not like how his second wife treats me, he also doesn't appreciate the lack of effort on my part to try to mend things between me and her." She frowned, her emerald green eyes hard with anger. "I don't see any point in trying to befriend her when she clearly hates me. Right now, my dad is angry with me because I've purposely avoided any contact with him and his new family for nearly a year now."

"And your mom?"

"The reason for her anger towards me is shallower," Terry replied. "She wants me to move back in with her and her second husband, which I find very unreasonable being a grown adult who could take care of herself. There's also her request that I hand over the business I started to Miles and start a music school with my stepfather. The music school doesn't sound so bad, but I'm certainly against giving up the business I started."

Sawako remained silent, pondering the state of Terry's family life. "Don't you… miss them? They are your family." For a few seconds, she thought that Terry was going to get angry at her for suggesting such a thing, but she sighed inwardly when it didn't happen.

"I miss my mom and my dad," Terry answered. "But I don't miss the problems their new families brought," she continued. "It's too much of a hassle to decide, which of them to go home to if I do decide to go back to California. It's much more peaceful here where I can focus on my studies and work on the business as well." She suddenly looked rueful. "Sorry," she apologized to Sawako who was surprised with the sudden apology. "I shouldn't be talking so much about my problematic family."

Sawako vehemently shook her head. "There's really no problem, Terry! I'm glad to listen to whatever you tell me!" She looked down at her hands then added, "I'm also flattered that you're telling me such personal things even though we're not that close as friends."

Terry chuckled and put a friendly arm around Sawako's shoulders. "Believe me, once I get you to open up to me about your past, I'd say that we would be close friends by then!"

"Next time then! I'll be sure to answer your questions about my past when we get another chance!" They cleaned up what they could in the kitchen and then went to peek at the girls' progress. "Are you really sure about Ritsu though?" she asked the redhead as they peered through the circular glass window on the door of the studio. "I'm still finding it a little bit hard to believe."

Terry shrugged. "I may be wrong, but I'm certain that there's a big possibility that Ritsu is harboring feelings for Mio. In fact, I might be bold enough to say that it may be the same for Mio though she might be in denial."

Sawako shook her head. "I still can't fully put my trust in your so-called gaydar even though you've been friends with Justine for years!"

"Give it a few more months," Terry replied, taking one last peek at the practicing girls and heading towards the bedroom. "It might happen sooner than you expect."

"If you're right then I bet Yui and Azusa will get together," Sawako sarcastically claimed.

Terry raised her eyebrows at Sawako and gave her a knowing smile.

* * *

_**Six chapters down and I'd say I'm making pretty good progress. I like how the story is going so far. I'm not one to rush into things and I certainly don't see the point of making them jump into relationships with a snap of your fingers. It's not realistic and if I did do that, it would give me less to work with. As you may have noticed, I've already begun to delve into the beginnings of particular relationships in this chapter. Rest assured, it will develop in the following chapters. Originally, I wanted to focus just on Sawako and her future relationship, but I decided to include the canon pairing as well. It's more work for me, but I guess I owe it up to the readers. **_

_**Speaking of the canon pairings, I'm suspecting that the lack of it is the reason why I'm not really getting a lot of reviews. There's also the fact that I incorporate original characters in my stories, which some readers don't like. Not that it really bothers me. Other stories I've written don't get as many reviews as well and I can only speculate that it's because of my writing style and the slow, but progressive nature of my stories. **_

_**In any case, I'm happy with the way things are going. Thanks to my readers and those who have reviewed! I appreciate your compliments and suggestions! It will take several chapters before I make another author's note this long.**_

_**Until the next chapter then!**_

_**Shadowed one**_


	7. Surprise

_Chapter 7: "Surprise"_

It was still taking some time for her to get used to the frequent praise she got from her professors for the second term of that school year. She wasn't sure if her professors were praising her because of her performance in their classes or if they were just using her to urge her less academically-inclined classmates to follow her example. Either way, she was uncomfortable with the praise despite the constant teasing and assurance she got from her classmate Haru. More than month after her trip with the Houkago girls and Sawako, Terry couldn't help but miss the sea. She had spent the remaining days of the trip surfing as much as she could. Sawako and the college students were surprised whenever they woke up because Terry was long gone and already hitting the waves. She was sad when they had to leave and go back to Nagoya since she honestly had no idea when she would visit a beach and surf again.

"I can't believe you still have that tan you got from your beach trip!" Haru enviously looked at his seatmate as they waited for their last class to end for that day. Like most students, Mondays were his most hated days of the week and he was eager to get out of school. "If I do get a tan, it only lasts for a week at most then it disappears! How can your tan last for almost a month?"

Terry laughed as she took down some notes their professor wrote on the board. "I'm just one of those people who could keep a tan for a long time," she told the younger man. "What did you do anyway over the summer break?"

Haru smiled sheepishly. "I worked part time at my dad's restaurant. I did mostly dishwashing and delivery duties though," he replied. "I needed the extra money to buy the books required for our new subjects for this term."

"Hardly a vacation though," Terry pointed out.

"I did go out on the weekends," Haru explained. "So I did have some vacation." He jotted down some notes in his notebook then stowed it back into his bag just as the bell signaled the end of the class. "Want to get a cool drink?" he asked the tall redhead as they got out of their seats.

"Sure! Are you treating?"

Haru groaned and patted his pockets. "I wish I could!"

Terry laughed. "I was just joking!"

"I know, but it still reminded me that I need to find a part time job to help me pay for my expenses," Haru replied depressingly. "My parents are having a hard enough time paying for my younger siblings' education."

Terry rubbed her jaw as she thought about Haru's predicament. "What kind of work are you looking for anyway? Anything specific?"

Haru shrugged his shoulders. "Anything offered to me, I'll do it! Even if it's just menial tasks!" While they walked out of the building and headed to a nearby juice stand, Terry made a sudden call to Shannon.

"_Hey Terry! What's up?"_

"Hey Shannon," Terry greeted her friend, ignoring the strange look Haru was giving her since she was talking to the live house owner in English. "I was wondering if you have any job openings at the live house?"

"_Job openings? I thought you didn't want to do any part time jobs!"_

Terry laughed. "It's not for me, idiot!" Before Shannon could say something to counter her, she said, "It's for a friend of mine. He's trying to find a part time job to support himself while he's studying."

"_It depends though," _Shannon replied. _"Is he looking for a specific job?"_

"Nope. He said he doesn't mind doing menial tasks."

"_Hmmm… well, Maki has been complaining about how hassling it is to handle the bar on his own," _Shannon said. _"Is he alright with working at night until say two in the morning?"_

"Hold on and I'll ask," Terry told her friend then turned to speak to Haru. "My friend owns a live house and says she needs someone to help man the bar. Is that alright with you?"

Haru looked wide-eyed at Terry. "But I don't know how to mix drinks!"

Shannon overheard the reply. _"Tell him that Maki will train him. He won't be doing any complicated mixing until he's ready. While he's still new, he'll most likely be doing inventory, restocking and do gopher duties."_

Terry explained all this to Haru who still looked bewildered. "It sounds like a good offer. Why don't you consider it? You did say that you need the money and if you'll be working at night, Shannon will give you night pay." She clarified this with Shannon.

"_Yeah, I'll give him night pay. That's a fifteen percent differential that would be given to him if he decides to give it a try. Still, I'd like to meet him in person and interview him a little bit."_

"Are you at the live house now?" Terry asked.

"_Yeah. Come around if you have time!"_

Terry hung up with her friend. "Let's skip on the cold drink. I'm sure we could wheedle some free drinks from Shannon who wants to meet you."

"Now?" Haru asked, looking surprised.

"Now," Terry repeated, pushing Haru towards the train station. "She's probably going to give you the job anyway, but she'd like to see and interview you for a bit. It's standard protocol after all." For the rest of the short trip to The Cobalt Loft, Terry kept assuring the black-haired and browned-eyed Haru that Shannon was a nice person and that he was a shoo-in for the job. She had to push Haru into the popular live house when they arrived. "Shannon! I'm here!" she announced, smiling as her spiky-haired friend bounded down the stairs to meet them.

"I wasn't expecting you to come at all!" Shannon hugged Terry then stepped aside to get a good look at her would-be employee. "You are Haru?"

"Nakajima Haru," the young man clarified in a polite voice. He gave a deep bow to the American woman before him.

"How old are you exactly?"

Haru gulped, realizing that his age would matter since he was applying for a job at a live house. "Nineteen," he honestly answered. "I'm a freshman at Sora College of Music."

Shannon sighed and looked over at Terry. "He's not of legal age yet and you know what kind of trouble I'll get into if he gets caught drinking."

Terry shrugged. "He just doesn't have to drink then. All he has to do is drink mixing, gopher duties, and inventory, right?"

"You're giving me a hard time," Shannon murmured then let out a sigh. "I'd rather hire a part-timer than hire someone for a full-time job though. There are only certain days of the week where Maki really needs the extra help." She smiled at the very nervous Haru. "I'll take you on," she told him. "We need to discuss a few things before you officially start though."

"When do I start?" Haru asked.

"Tomorrow night," Shannon replied. "Actually, I can already tell you that I'll need you to work on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Those are our busiest days of the week. Of course, I know you might need a day off for school-related purposes. We can work our way around that if it happens." She towed the young man upstairs to her office. "Oh and Terry, go ask Maki for a drink if you want! I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Terry shook her head in amusement and sat herself at the bar. "No alcohol for me, Maki," she told the bartender when he approached. "Orange juice will do." She nodded her thanks to him when he slid a cold glass of the juice on the table in front of her. "Is the business doing well?" She watched as the bartender used a clean cloth to wipe a variety of glasses.

"Doing really well," Maki replied, looking at one particular glass for smudges. "Gray-san is starting to tap into another market."

"Which is?"

"The tourists."

Terry was surprised at the answer. "Why would tourists come to a live house?"

"Because the owner happens to be an American who's also very knowledgeable about places and things tourists would like to go to while they're here in the country," Maki explained with a small laugh. "Last week, we had a group of Americans who just happened to come here since they were curious about the music scene. Shannon entertained them and they left quite happy and with a possible itinerary to follow for the duration of their stay."

"She's always been the enterprising one," Terry remarked.

"And what she did is starting to work wonders actually," Maki pointed out. "We're assuming that it's through word of mouth, but we've had a fair number of tourists trickling into our establishment. Aside from the comfort they get from dealing with someone who could speak English, they're enjoying the music scene as well." He started to put away the clean glasses. "It's a good thing Gray-san is going to hire that young man. Things are getting so busy that it's difficult to keep up with my work."

Terry grinned. "Haru's a good kid. A little shy, but he'll work hard. Just show him the ropes and treat him well."

"I'll be sure to do that," Maki told the redhead just as Shannon and her newest employee joined them at the bar. "So is he going to be my new assistant?" he asked his boss.

Shannon grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "He sure is! He'll be starting tomorrow, but he says he's free for the rest of the afternoon so maybe you could start teaching him." She pushed the college freshman behind the bar and let Maki take over. Sitting next to Terry, she rested her elbows against the bar's surface. "How have you been doing?"

Terry shrugged. "School's fine."

"And work?"

"Doing pretty well too," Terry replied. "We pulled in a hefty profit from that deal we made with the music college. They initially ordered four hundred-fifty copies of the latest Crimson Score program and are set to order double that amount in the following year for their incoming freshmen."

"How much money are we talking about?"

Terry calculated a quick estimate. "Well, since they ordered in bulk, we did give them a discount. Typically, we sell the program at around two hundred-twelve dollars, but we gave it to them at a hundred ninety. So for their initial purchase, we're getting eighty-five thousand five hundred more or less."

Shannon whistled. "And you're doubling that amount in the following school year," she added. "That's a lot of money!"

"It is and it's a big deal for us since it's the first major deal we ever made and hopefully it'll be long term," Terry replied happily. "I guess it's an advantage that our selling price is relatively lower compared to other programs, but the features we offer are at par with those more famous ones. Also, Miles and I decided that music students who avail of our product can avail of a ten percent discount when they upgrade to better versions."

"You're certainly making sure that your deal is going to be long term," Shannon teased, feeling happy for the success of her friend. "I'm sure other music schools will be coming to your doorstep soon!"

Terry laughed. "Hopefully! I'm trying to get the exact numbers, but I've been having trouble contacting Miles."

"Oh? Why don't you just ask your accountant?"

"Well, Miles is usually the one I ask when it comes to our income and expenses. He's been making most of the big decisions in my stead since I'm here in Japan." Terry frowned suddenly. "He hasn't been returning any of my calls or emails for the past week and I'm not sure whether I should feel annoyed about it."

Shannon laughed. "Maybe he's just busy! After all, he's doing twice the amount of work!"

Still frowning, Terry shrugged her shoulders in reply. "Maybe, but he should still try to return my calls and messages. We are business partners after all!" She glanced at her wristwatch then got to her feet. "I should get going. I have school work to do." She looked over at Haru who was learning where to find certain alcoholic beverages.

"I'll teach you how to make the simple cocktails next time around," Maki told his student. "I'll let you handle the beers for tomorrow night."

Haru nodded seriously and paid close attention to his teacher.

Terry decided not to interrupt the lesson and turned to bid goodbye to Shannon. "Take care of him alright?"

"I always take care of my employees!" Shannon hugged the taller woman.

"Not if they're like your previous bartenders," Terry teased, flinching when Shannon punched her on the arm. "I'll see you around!" She waved and headed for the exit.

"Oh Terry!" Shannon called, making the software engineer stop in her tracks. "You should come over this Saturday!"

"Why?" Terry asked, unsure if she wanted to spend her Saturday night at Shannon's live house.

"Well, the Houkago girls are playing and we've got a special band coming over!"

"Special band?" Terry murmured, not really finding the prospect attractive enough. "I think I'll pass, Shannon."

"Awww! Come on, Terry! You haven't been here for nearly two months now and I'm expecting a number of foreign tourists to drop by! I need the extra help!"

"I doubt I'm going to be paid for helping you entertain," Terry retorted.

"Please Terry! Please?" Shannon batted her eyelashes at Terry and did her best in giving a puppy-dog stare. "All your drinks will be on me!"

Terry grimaced. "I don't want to drink."

Shannon sighed. "I'll give you thirty bucks."

"Fifty," Terry interjected.

"Thirty-five!"

"Fifty or I'm going to spend Saturday night relaxing in my condo," Terry firmly told her friend.

"Fine!" Shannon huffed. "Be here on Saturday!" She turned around to supervise the training of her newest employee.

* * *

_Saturday night – 8:30 pm_

_

* * *

_

Terry stopped several feet away from the crowded entrance of The Cobalt Loft. From a block away, she could already tell that the establishment was going to be very loud for that night. One thing she didn't like about going out was the need to dress up. It was hassling for her, but she had to do it for this particular night since Shannon insisted that she help out if any foreign tourists arrive. Despite her relative comfort in her outfit, it was still rather stylish. She wore a sleeveless black vest that exposed just enough of her cleavage and showed the wiry muscles of her shoulders and arms. She also wore matching black skinny jeans and comfortable flats on her feet. A long silver chain hung from one belt strap and connected to her wallet inside her pocket. Aside from the chain, the only other accessory Terry wore were her prescription glasses since her eyes were too sore to wear contacts that night.

The bouncer nodded to her when he saw her and let her in, much to the dismay of the people who were lining up outside. Terry just ignored the heated argument one of the queuing customers brought up to the bouncer and entered the crowded establishment. Seeing a spot vacated at the bar, the redhead strode over and settled herself in, knowing that it would be another half hour or so before the Houkago girls took the stage.

"Did you see Gray-san yet?" Maki pushed over a full glass of orange juice, smiling knowingly at her.

Terry smiled back at the bartender who pretty much knew about her aversion towards alcohol. "I'm trying to put off meeting her," she told Maki.

"She's been riled up since early this evening and she's been waiting for you to arrive." Maki refilled a tall glass of draft beer and served it to a nearby customer.

"Her fault for not specifying what time I should be here," Terry answered with an evil grin. "What's the big deal anyway? Did those tourists she's expecting arrive yet?"

Maki nodded and pointed upstairs. "There are three of them."

"That's certainly enough for her to handle so why does she need my help?"

Maki shrugged his shoulders and went to service the rest of the customers lined up along his bar.

Someone tapped Terry on the shoulder and made her turn around. Her emerald green eyes brightened upon seeing who it was. "Sawako! It's good to see you!" She and the teacher quickly embraced.

Sawako smiled at the seated Terry. "It's good to see you too! It's been weeks since we last saw each other! It's obvious that both you and I have been busy with school!" She nodded her thanks to Maki who brought over a glass of cold beer. Careful not to drip on her black tube dress, she drank half of her beer and set it back on the bar. "The last few times I've been here, you weren't around."

Terry smirked. "Shannon is just going to give me trouble if I come here more often," she told the older woman before her. "So why are you here?"

"The girls are going to be performing a couple of their individual songs and I'd like to be on hand to see them perform," Sawako explained. "They didn't tell me which songs they'll be performing though so I'll just have to be surprised." She downed the rest of her beer and thanked Maki. "Want to head up or maybe you're trying to avoid Shannon?"

Terry laughed and slipped off the stool. "I'll come along. Shannon owes me fifty bucks anyway and she won't give it to me if I don't show up." She let Sawako lead the way up the stairs. She and Sawako waved to the Houkago girls who were setting up on stage and looked around for seats.

"Terry! There you are!" Shannon loped over to the tall redhead and grabbed her arm. "Where were you? I was expecting you hours ago!" She started to drag Terry towards the corner of the room closest to the stage.

Rolling her eyes, Terry tried to free her arm from Shannon's grasp. "You didn't tell me what time I should be here and Maki said you only have three foreign tourists to entertain! You don't need my help for that!" She threw a frustrated look at Sawako who hid a grin and followed the two Americans. "Stop dragging me!"

Shannon merely smirked at the software engineer. "The guests want to meet you!"

Terry was exasperated. There was no reason for a bunch of foreign tourists to want to meet her not unless they knew of her past life in a band. They were probably trying to get an autograph from her. "Why would they want to-" Terry choked and felt the wind get knocked out from her as she was suddenly tackled by two large bodies and enveloped in a crushing embrace. Her glasses were knocked askew on her face, but her emerald green eyes were bulging out in shock at the woman sitting on the couch in front of her. "What the fuck!" Terry swore, twisting her head in difficulty to make sure that the two who were hugging her were really who she thought they were.

"Hey flame hair! Did you miss me?"

Terry scowled and tried to extricate herself from the crushing hug. Only one person called her that and if he was here, it meant the others were there as well. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" she demanded, glaring first at the grinning Miles then at the ash blond-haired Kelly. "You freaking idiot!" She managed to get an arm free and punched Miles hard. "I've been trying to contact you for the past week and this is the reason why you haven't returned any of my calls?"

Justine chuckled then got to her feet, easily towering over most of the people around them. Her raven black hair was pulled back in a simple bun and her blue-gray eyes danced with joy. Pushing the buff Kelly and slightly injured Miles off, she fiercely hugged Terry and smiled at her. "Surprised?" she asked.

Terry grumbled. "Surprised, but I'm not sure if I can call it a good or bad one."

"It should be good!" Kelly remarked, playfully tousling Terry's auburn hair. "Aren't you glad to see us, flame hair?" He grinned when Terry frowned at the mention of his personal nickname for her. "It's been more than a year since we last got together!"

"Focus on the reunion and not on Miles' gaffe of not contacting you," Justine told her friend. "Weren't you the least bit suspicious? Shannon was obviously in on the surprise and since you mentioned Miles not contacting you at all, I figured you'd be suspicious."

Terry shook her head and pressed her fingers against her temples. "I didn't suspect anything at all." She looked over both of the guys in her group and saw that they were dressed simply in collared polo shirts, jeans and loafers. Justine on the hand had gone more stylish by wearing a flowing crimson-colored halter top, tight jeans and her heels. "Did you just fly in today?" Terry asked incredulously.

Miles nodded his head, obviously forgetting the punch Terry inflicted on him earlier. "Four hours ago to be exact!"

Terry glared at Miles. "And you just left the company to fend for itself?"

"Remember, I promoted Rick to manager and both you and I know that he's capable enough to keep an eye on things," Miles gently explained to his business partner.

Groaning, Terry looked at each of her former band mates. "Why are all of you here anyway?"

Kelly and Miles looked at each other and grinned. "Vacation," they chorused.

"Who said you could go on vacation?" Terry demanded from Miles. She then focused her gaze on Kelly. "I thought you were going to start your own clinic."

"I will, but I figured a little vacation would do me some good," Kelly replied, crossing his chiseled arms over his chest. He also ignored the frequent looks of admiration he was getting from the women around them.

"And you?" Terry looked over at Justine, feeling suddenly tired.

"Work and vacation as well," Justine explained. "I jumped on a short-term contract to do some modeling work here in Japan. I needed a change of environment and knowing that you and Shannon are here will give me some ease." She jerked her head at their two male friends. "These two decided to tag along when they heard about it."

"Justine! I can't believe you said that!" Miles dramatically proclaimed. "We planned this so that we could have a mini-reunion of sorts!"

Justine shrugged her elegant shoulders. "Call it what you want." Her blue-gray eyes flitted from one friend to another before settling on a bewildered brunette in a black tube dress. "Terry," she called her friend's attention. "I believe you owe me that introduction you promised me."

Terry blinked. "Huh?" She turned to see what Justine was looking at and realized that her model friend wanted an introduction. "Ah… I remember." Terry shot a warning look at Justine and urged Sawako to come closer. "Sorry about the fuss," she told the teacher. "I wasn't expecting them to all be here." Taking over the necessary introductions, she first introduced Justine. "You've heard about Justine," she told Sawako who was shaking hands with the model. "Justine, this is Sawako."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Justine told Sawako with a warm smile.

"This idiot here is Miles," Terry continued, jerking her thumb at her business partner who stepped up to exchange handshakes. "And the buff blond guy is Kelly." She took a deep breath and let it all out in a huff. "To put it simply, they're my former band mates."

"It's a pleasure and an honor to meet all of you," Sawako sincerely told the Americans in fluent but accented English. "Terry has told me a lot about all of you."

"Good things I hope?" Kelly's amber eyes twinkled in mischief.

"Good things about you and Justine, but not much on Miles," Sawako joked, feeling at ease with Terry's friends.

Miles looked glumly at them. "She never says good things about me," he complained.

Shannon clapped her hands to get their attention. "Why don't we all sit down?" She gestured at the couches. "Sawako's former students are going to perform now and I'm sure we could continue this reunion while sitting and having a few drinks."

"No drinks for Terry though!" Justine and Kelly said together.

Terry scowled. "Of course! That's why I try to avoid coming here too often! Shannon keeps forcing me to drink!" She laughed along with her friends and settled themselves on the couches with her seated between Sawako and Justine. Her former band mates were asking her a variety of questions about her stay in Japan and her studies when Yui's girlish voice rang across the room.

"Hello! We're Houkago Tea Time!" The short-haired brunette grinned at her enthusiastic audience and flashed them a peace sign. "We'll be singing a couple of new songs tonight and we hope you'll enjoy them!" She fixed her hold on her guitar and just as Ritsu was about to strike her drum sticks together, she suddenly added, "Oh! Hi Sawa-chan! Hi Terry-san!" She waved happily at their former club supervisor and their surfer friend.

"Yui-senpai!" Azusa scolded the older woman and reminded her that they were supposed to start their performance.

"Ah… sorry! Our first song for tonight is _'Guitar ni Kubittake'_!"

Ritsu grinned. "One, two, three, go!"

Kelly nodded his head in appreciation as he listened to the enthusiastic guitar solo. "She's a pretty good guitarist," he remarked, lightly elbowing Miles to get his attention. "Don't you think so, Miles?"

The raven-haired man nodded in agreement. "She has good control. The pigtailed one has marvelous skill too!" He looked over at Justine who was already scouting out the playing field. "Oh no… Justine has that look in her eyes."

Justine raised her eyebrows at Miles. "It's free to look, you know." Her blue-gray eyes settled on one particular long-haired blonde playing on her keyboard.

Terry chuckled and placed a hand over Justine's eyes. "Are you going to make headlines here in Japan too?"

"I don't believe that this country would be bold enough to put up taboo related topics as their headlines," Justine replied, pushing away Terry's hand. "Besides, I can't help it if I find Japanese women attractive. I've had enough of Caucasians." Her eyes were still settled on the keyboardist.

"Mugi is part European though," Terry informed her friend.

"Mixed bloods can be attractive as well." Justine slyly smiled at the redhead, noticing the astonished look Sawako was giving her. "What? I assume Terry has told you about my sexual preference."

Sawako blushed and tore her gaze away in embarrassment. "She did, but I didn't expect you to be so blunt about it."

Kelly laughed to ease away the awkwardness. "Most people are unprepared when they meet Justine. Don't worry though. She won't pull any moves unless she's given permission."

"That depends on the situation," Justine clarified. While she continued to talk to Miles, Kelly and Shannon, Terry stood up and accompanied Sawako downstairs to the bar.

Terry grimaced. "More alcohol?"

"I need it," Sawako simply replied and sat herself at the bar.

"Whatever for?"

"To drown my sorrows away." Sawako ordered a shot of tequila and gulped it down. She saw Terry looking at her questioningly so she decided to just be out with it. "This boy I was seeing for the past month decided to cut things off between us." She sighed and downed another shot. "He didn't do it in the nicest way though."

Terry sat next to the teacher and gazed at her. "What did he do?"

"Oh he told me at the beginning of our date," Sawako dispassionately said. "He said the usual 'it's me and not you' type of reason and then his new date showed up."

"Did you beat him up?"

Sawako laughed. "I wish I did, but then again that wouldn't be the right thing to do in public." They stayed in relative silence as she gulped down a few more shots. "Phew! That mellowed me down a lot!" She shakily got out of her seat only to be caught in Terry's arms. She smiled up at the worried redhead. "I'm fine. It'll take twice more the number of shots I just had to really get me drunk." She allowed Terry to help her go back upstairs. "I'm just a little bit woozy. Nothing for you to worry about!"

Terry shook her head disapprovingly as she helped Sawako stagger across the floor and sat her down on the couch. "She's had a number of shots," she informed her band mates when they all looked at her questioningly.

"It's not enough," Sawako interjected with a grin. She raised her hand in the air and waved a passing waiter over. "More shots please!"

Leaning over so that she could whisper into Justine's ear, she said, "She's coming from a break-up."

Justine's elegant eyebrows arched up in interest. "It's easy to see why she's going along the path of drinking until there's no tomorrow," she replied. She jerked her head over at Kelly who was in deep conversation with Miles and Shannon. "Why don't you introduce her to Kelly?"

"You mean set her up?"

Justine smiled. "Well, if her previous boys have been asses, she'll be pleasantly surprised with Kelly. You and I both know that even though he's dreadfully shy around women, he's a perfect gentleman." She snagged herself a shot of tequila from the tray held by the waiter. "Besides, it's a better and safer way to distract her from her boyfriend troubles." She raised her shot glass in the air in a toast then downed it in one gulp. "You might as well do it before Sawako goes overboard with her drinking or Kelly's attention gets claimed by the other women milling around."

Terry smirked as she got out of her seat and headed towards Miles and Kelly. She politely interrupted the conversation and pulled Kelly a few feet away from the couches.

"What's up?" Kelly asked.

"I need a favor," Terry told her tall friend. Her eyes flitted back to the still drinking Sawako then at the DJ setting up on the stage. She didn't even realize that the Houkago girls were already done with their set and were probably freshening up in the back room. "I was wondering if you could… distract Sawako a bit."

"Distract?" Ash blond hair fell over his amber colored eyes. "I'm not sure I understand."

Terry looked a little bit guilty at what she was about to do, but she realized that it would do both Kelly and Sawako some good if the latter agreed. "Well, to put it simply, could you flirt with Sawako?"

"Flirt?" Kelly repeated in straight voice.

"Yes, flirt," Terry clarified with a small grin. "She's reeling from a recent break-up and I'd rather not have her drink her sorrows away. Having another guy give her attention would be a better option."

Kelly sighed and seemed uneasy with the favor being asked from him. "Terry, I barely know her and you know… how awkward I can get with women."

"You're hardly awkward when you're around me, Justine and Shannon."

Kelly shook his head. "That's different," he argued, running his fingers through his hair. "Besides, won't she get other ideas if I do it?"

"Looking and flirting is free and alright. Just don't get ahead of yourself, if you know what I mean." Terry hardly suspected Kelly of taking Sawako to bed after all the one-night stands and the consequences attached to it back in their band days.

"Oh okay," Kelly finally agreed. "I just have to flirt and distract her, right?" He rubbed his jaw in thought. "How exactly do you want me to go about it?"

Terry gestured at the dance floor. "Ask her to dance. I'm sure that will keep her preoccupied." It was helping that the DJ was already mixing up dance beats.

Kelly sighed. "Here I go then."

Watching her friend amble towards the still drinking Sawako, she could only smile as when the teacher started smiling at the attention she was getting. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she was certain that Kelly was successful in catching her attention. A few minutes later, Kelly was leading Sawako to the dance floor. She was just about to sit down when the Houkago girls trooped out of the backroom and looked wide-eyed at the two new foreigners.

"C-Crimson Skies?" Mio stuttered, being the first among her band mates to recognize the group.

"Ehhh?" Yui leaned over and scrutinized the three Americans. "Terry-san's band mates? Hmmm… they're as cool-looking as Terry-san!" She furrowed her eyebrows and gave both Miles and Justine a closer look. "Aren't there supposed to be three of them?"

Azusa sighed and jerked her head at the crowded dance floor. "I think I saw their other band mate with Sawa-chan on the dance floor."

Miles smiled impishly and nudged Justine. "Did you get any of that, Justine?"

Justine frowned. "Unlike Shannon and Terry, I don't understand Japanese," she told him. "I did understand the 'Crimson Skies' and caught one of them saying Terry's name."

Shannon laughed and motioned for the Houkago girls to sit down. "If it's alright with you girls, could you speak in English? Unlike Terry, her band mates aren't proficient at all in your language and it would be rather difficult to carry a conversation if we need to translate."

Ritsu grinned and stuck her hand out for a handshake. "I'm Ritsu," she introduced herself and shook hands with first Miles then Justine. Among her friends with the exclusion of Mugi, she was proficient enough with the English language having taken up English language classes throughout her college education.

"You can call me Yui," the lead guitarist followed. Her English was accented, but like the rest of her friends, she also took up English language classes because Ritsu had convinced them. She backed away to let her other three band mates introduce themselves to the former award-winning band.

Justine shook her head in amusement once the introductions were done. "It didn't occur to me that all of you could speak English fairly well. Is English part of the education curriculum?"

Mugi smiled. "We start learning in junior high school," she explained to the foreigners. "Truthfully, most Japanese don't comprehend the language even after going through these courses. In our case," she was referring to herself and her band mates. "Ritsu convinced us to take additional English courses to improve our use of your language."

"You mean forced, Mugi-senpai," Azusa corrected, ignoring the glare she got from the drummer. "Ritsu-senpai has always had this dream that we'll be needing the proficiency in speaking English when we go to America."

Miles laughed at how sarcastic the pigtailed girl sounded. "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea. It won't just help you when you decide to go to America. Majority of other countries also speak English or at least know some of it so it would be considerably easier for you to travel around." He sighed. "At least you're bilingual," he told them. "I can only speak in one language."

"Which is gibberish," Terry drawled, drawing laughter from their group.

"Why are you all here in Japan?" Yui curiously asked. "Are you visiting Terry-san?"

Miles grinned. "Sort of," he replied. "Kelly and I are mostly here for vacation while Justine here is going to do some modeling work and do a little vacation time as well." He kept smiling at the college students. "But enough about us, we'd like to hear more about you girls! It was a great performance by the way! I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I couldn't understand the lyrics."

Justine also took the time to compliment the Houkago girls' performance. "I enjoyed it as well," she told them with a smile, showcasing her perfectly lined and white teeth. "Terry here wasn't kidding that you girls are a very talented bunch."

Terry let out a huff. "I'm hardly the type to lie," she muttered.

"How much has Terry-san told you about us?" Mugi wondered.

The raven-haired man gave them a bright smile. "It's enough to give us a good idea about who you girls are and your skill when it comes to making and playing music." He gave a sheepish look at his best friend. "Well, Terry gave us basic ideas about all of you and we had to pry other details from her."

"It was needed to lengthen the few conversations we had with Terry while we were on different sides of the world," Justine added with a chuckle. "It's hard to keep Terry talking over the phone when she loses interest fast. Take it from us! You have to keep asking her questions to keep her talking."

"Guys please," Terry pleaded, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

Miles laughed and slapped Terry on her back. "Did we ever mention that it's very fun to embarrass her as well?" He watched as the Houkago girls chuckled and looked at Terry in amusement.

"Sawa-chan likes to embarrass Terry-san as well," Yui pointed out with a grin. "When we went to the beach over the summer, Sawa-chan forced her to join us in the common bathroom. She actually stripped Terry-san-"

Terry lunged forward and clapped a hand over Yui's mouth to prevent her from finishing. "Enough!" she said, shooting a glare at a laughing Miles and Justine who pretty much understood what had happened. "God… I've been trying my best to forget that, but you just had to remind me about it!"

Justine smirked. "I don't really understand why you're so shy about your body. There's absolutely nothing to be shy about with that body of yours." She saw the college students give nods of agreement, knowing that they had a good look at the very fit body of her friend. "Besides, you're practically almost naked whenever you surf."

Terry looked appalled. "I do not!" she shouted. "I wear a rash guard for crying out loud!"

"There were those times that you surfed just in a bikini," Justine reminded her friend, her blue-gray eyes twinkling in mischief.

Terry let out a huff. "That's different. I was still covered… enough."

Justine shrugged her shoulders and turned to grin at the Houkago girls. "Did she make a fuss when she was bathing with you?"

Ritsu returned the grin. "She did put up a fight when Sawa-chan was stripping her. She gave up in the end and stayed in one corner of the pool."

"You've got to flaunt your body sometimes, you know," Justine murmured, gazing sidelong at the deeply red-faced Terry.

"I doubt you'd be comfortable if you were put in the same situation, Justine," Terry hissed at the model.

"Your doubt is useless then," Justine calmly replied, taking her glass in her hand and bringing it to her lips. "You forget that in my career, I'm frequently exposed to the buck nakedness of my peers." She raised a knowing eyebrow at the Japanese women who sat around her. "Both men and women if you must know," she told them with a sweet smile.

"So you're comfortable with your body then, Justine-san?" Mugi asked.

The raven-haired model chuckled. "More than comfortable," she replied, setting her empty glass on the table. "If I'm ramping, all of us models have to change in a hurry and we usually do that in a common dressing room that's packed with stylists, designers and assistants. You learn to get comfortable with your nakedness and the nakedness of others fast in that situation."

"Good thing you're not like those anorexic-looking models," Miles pointed out. "You're certainly healthier looking than most models you work with."

Justine shrugged. "Why would I want to look like a stick?" she asked, smiling when Mugi and her friends chuckled at her dry remark. "Besides, those stick models tend to be weakly and prone to sickness. I certainly am not interested in putting myself in that situation." She looked up and grinned at a slightly sweaty Kelly who was leading Sawako back to their table. "Had enough of dancing?" she asked him.

Kelly gave them a weak smile and rubbed his bristled chin. "It was getting difficult to keep catching her whenever she lost her balance."

Terry eyed the grinning brunette whose eyeglasses were just about to slip off the tip of her nose. "Sawako… you've been drinking more haven't you?" She looked at the blond-haired Kelly who nodded his head in confirmation. "Just how many more drinks have you had anyway?"

Sawako hiccupped and began to count on her fingers. "Hmmm… I'm pretty sure I've had more than five shots while I was still on the dance floor."

Terry smacked her forehead. "How the hell are you going to get home in that state?" She raised her eyebrows at the older woman. "Did you drive?"

"Yup!"

Justine chuckled at the amusing conversation. It was rather entertaining to watch Terry patiently berate a woman who was older than she was. "Obviously, she won't be able to drive home," she remarked, covering a yawn and glancing at her watch. "God… all that traveling is catching up to me."

Kelly and Miles exchanged looks and nodded to each other. They both got to their feet and turned to address Shannon and the all-girl band. "We should get going. Justine isn't the only one tired from the traveling," Miles said with a kind smile.

Terry also got to her feet and allowed the college students to hug her goodbye. "It was a good show despite the unpleasant surprise I got afterwards," she told them and shot a glare at her former band mates. Turning her attention to her friends, she said, "Shall I call a taxi for the three of you?" She furrowed her eyebrows at the strange looks she received from them. "What? It was an honest question!"

Shannon suddenly cut in. "They didn't tell you?" she demanded.

"Tell me what?" Terry asked, feeling a headache developing. She could pretty much tell that another unpleasant surprise was unraveling.

The live house owner shook her head and half-seriously frowned at the newly arrived tourists. "I would have expected Justine to at least have enough sense to inform you," Shannon remarked with a rueful sigh. "Well I'm certainly not the one who's going to give her the news." She looked expectantly at Miles, Kelly and Justine. While Justine was simply smiling, Kelly was trying hard to look indifferent and Miles was giving off a shaky smile.

"Well?" Terry looked pointedly at her friends.

Miles coughed and cleared his throat. "Actually…" he nervously began. "We figured that we'd keep you company at your place." He held his breath as he watched Terry first blink once then twice. The redhead's eyebrows furrowed when the statement finally registered in her head.

"You're going to stay with me," Terry flatly said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Kelly jumped in to attempt to ease the situation. "You always told us that you were lonely and that if we did come around to visiting, we should stay with you at your condo," he quickly told the bassist. "It would be a fun reunion!"

"Not to mention, we'd be saving a great deal of money since we'll be living with her," Miles added, flinching at the icy glare Terry shot at him.

Shannon jumped in as well to soothe things over. "It'll only be for a couple of months and I doubt they'll be complete freeloaders," she said, glancing at Justine for some help. "Justine will be working of course and I know Miles will be working as well with your business even if he's here in Japan. As for Kelly…" she paused and tried to think of something.

Kelly grinned. "I'll do your housework for you, Terry," he announced, smiling when that at least brought a small smile to Terry's lips. He also turned and smiled at the chuckling Japanese women around him. "What?" he demanded. "Just because I'm a hulking guy doesn't mean I don't know how to do housework! I'm pretty good at it too and this way, I can be sure that Terry is eating properly." He eyed his redheaded friend. "Knowing you, you've been living on takeout and instant food."

Terry shoulders drooped in defeat. "Alright," she decided. "You can stay with me." She rubbed her tired eyes. "Where are your things anyway? We can just grab a taxi or two to take us and your luggage back to my condo."

"They're all in Shannon's office," Justine replied, grabbing both Miles and Kelly by the arm and tugging them towards the office. "We'll go get them."

"Now what am I supposed to do with you?" Terry remarked, looking over at an almost wasted Sawako who was leaning back against the couch and had her eyes closed. "Can any of you take her home?" she asked the Houkago girls who could only shake their heads.

"We commuted here today so we don't have a car or driver to take us back to our apartment," Mio informed both Terry and Shannon. "And we do live in different sides of the city," she added. "We could take her with us, but we decided we'd do the thirty minute walk back to our apartment."

"It would be hard for us to take Sawa-chan," Ritsu admitted.

Terry sighed and looked at Shannon. "How about you? Could you take her home?"

Shannon shook her head. "We're going to stay open for a couple more hours and I have to be here. Besides, I don't drive here, remember?"

It looked like it was up to her to take charge. "I guess I'll have to be the one to take her home then." She looked over at her former band mates when they came over with the luggage. "Let's get a taxi for the three of you."

"Just the three of us?" Justine questioned.

"I have to take Sawako home," Terry told them wearily. She bid quick goodbyes to the Houkago girls and to Shannon then led her friends out of the live house, toting a half passed out Sawako on her shoulder. She flagged down a minivan taxi and helped her friends load their luggage. She then gave her address to the driver and handed her keys to Miles. "Just tell the concierge that you're my friends," she told him then sent them off.

Seating Sawako on a roadside bench, she shuffled through Sawako's handbag and found her car keys. Nudging the teacher to some sense of wakefulness, she asked, "Where did you park your car?" She merely shook her head when Sawako pointed to a black Mazda AZ-Wagon parked across the street then passed out once more. Hauling the teacher to her feet, she wrapped an arm around Sawako's waist and set the teacher's limp arm on her shoulders. She half-dragged and half-carried Sawako across the street and loaded the teacher into the box-type car. After strapping the teacher into the passenger seat, Terry hesitantly got into the driver's seat. She had not tried driving at all in Japan and she wasn't used to the different set-up and rules. Back in America, the steering wheel was on the left side of the car, but here it was on the right side. There was also the fact that the Japanese drove on the opposite side of the road, which made Terry all the more nervous.

She poked the open-mouthed teacher to wake her up once more. "Where do you live?" she asked, rolling her eyes in exasperation when Sawako opened her eyes for a second then closed them again. "So much for that," Terry remarked then noticed that there was a built-in GPS on the dashboard. "Let's see if she has her home as a favorite." She tapped on the screen for a few moments and realized that Sawako had indeed programmed her home address into the system. While the map and directions loaded, Terry looked over shoulder to see if there was any oncoming traffic then eased the car out onto the road. Since it was the early hours of morning, there was relatively no traffic, which made driving easier for her. Still, she didn't get too comfortable behind the wheel, which made the trip longer. Thankfully enough, the GPS led her to the apartment complex Sawako lived in. After parking in the basement, Terry hauled Sawako to the elevator and managed to wake her up long enough to find out what floor and apartment she lived in.

"Sawako… please make things easier for me!" Terry groaned as she lugged the teacher out of the elevator and onto the hall of the fourth floor. Knowing that her lament was unheard, she made her way down the hall and stopped at the door of Sawako's abode. Leaning the teacher against the wall, she once again looked through her friend's handbag and found the keys. Staggering into the dark apartment, Terry fumbled along the wall for the light switch and found it. She blinked her tired eyes as the lights came on, illuminating the simple and somewhat messy abode. Several empty cans of beer littered the low table top and the floor beneath it and books and papers were scattered in the main living area, working its way towards Sawako's small bedroom. "This looks like the apartment of a college student," Terry mused, picking her way through the mess and seating Sawako on the edge of her bed. "Sawako… Sawako!" Terry called out to her friend. "You should change your clothes," she told slightly conscious teacher.

Sawako's lips parted, but no sound came out. She opened her bloodshot hazel eyes and slowly realized that she was in her bedroom. "How did I get here?" she groaned, pressing a hand against her aching head. "My head is killing me."

Terry scowled. "That's what happens when you drink too much," she berated the drunk woman before her. "To answer your question, I brought you home. I drove your car and carried you up here." Terry looked around the room and spotted the closet. "I should leave you to sleep, but I need to make sure you'll be fine." She walked over to the closet and pulled out an oversized shirt she assumed was used for sleeping. "Here," she said, handing the shirt to the teacher. "Change into that and I'll go get you a glass of water." She went into the small kitchen and opened the refrigerator, scowling at the cans of beer inside then pulled out a fresh bottle of water. When she walked back into the bedroom, she could only sigh wearily at Sawako who was trying in vain to reach behind her back to unzip her dress. Putting the bottle on the bedside table, she sat on the bed behind Sawako and took over. "Here! Take your hands away," she ordered in a firm voice. Briskly, she unzipped the dress, hesitating momentarily when the exposed skin of Sawako's back made her realize that the older woman wasn't wearing a bra. Once the dress slipped down to pool around her waist, Terry took the shirt and put it on Sawako. After she disposed the dress in a nearby laundry basket, she then helped Sawako rehydrate herself with the water she brought from the kitchen.

"Good thing there's no school tomorrow," Sawako moaned, allowing Terry to lay her down on her bed and tucking her blankets around her body.

"You mean later," Terry corrected. "It's Sunday already, remember?" She couldn't help but grin when she received a groan in reply. Reaching out with her hand, she gently moved Sawako's hair off her face and let her hand linger on the teacher's cheek. "You're burning up, but I doubt it's because you're getting a fever," she told her. "You should really control your liquor intake. I might not be here the next time around you get this drunk." Impulsively, she leaned in and gently kissed Sawako on her forehead.

Hazel eyes fluttering open, Sawako softly smiled up at Terry as she pulled away. "You're really sweet, you know." She struggled to sit up by pushing herself up with her arms, but she could barely do it due to her tiredness and because Terry was pushing her onto her back. "What would I do without you?" she asked, her hazel eyes clouded. Before Terry could reply, she surged upward and let her lips press against the corner of Terry's lips. Once her head hit the pillow, she passed out once and for all.

Terry was shocked at the sudden act of affection and didn't know what to make of it until she firmly told herself that Sawako was just drunk and probably did it on alcohol-fueled impulse. Still, she was unnerved with what just happened. Finding no more reason to stay longer, she pulled the blankets up to cover Sawako's body then showed herself out. In the humid darkness, Terry flagged down a passing taxi, her mind already set on dealing with her former band mates who were going to live with her for the next few months.


	8. School Festival

_Chapter 8: "School Festival"_

Azusa walked into the apartment she shared with her band mates and saw that her senpais were getting ready to practice. As she hung her coat in the closet by the door, she remarked, "The leaves are changing color."

Yui looked up from tuning her guitar and grinned. "It is the end of October after all," she replied. "Azu-nyan, where have you been? You're late."

The blue-haired guitarist sighed and accepted a cup of tea from Mugi. "I had a last minute make-up class to attend and as much as I wanted to cut it, I couldn't," she told her friends as she sat at their low table. "Our professor for that particular class refused to tell us the coverage of our upcoming exam unless all of us were present at the make-up class."

Mugi smiled softly to herself, enjoying the flavorful tea she just steeped. "Was it cold outside, Azusa-chan?"

The pigtailed girl nodded. "It's getting chilly," Azusa replied. "The weather forecast said that we should expect snow in the next couple of weeks."

"So the snows are coming earlier this year, huh?" Yui crowed, grinning as she strummed her now perfectly tuned guitar. She plopped down onto her back and rolled across the floor giddily. "I wish it was Christmas already! I want to go home!"

Azusa tilted her head to the side and looked thoughtful. "Now that you mention it, it has been a while since we last went home." She gently set her cup on the table and rested her elbows on the surface. "I'm with you though, Yui-senpai," she wistfully said. "I can't wait for the next break to come so that we could go home. I do miss my parents."

"What's that about missing your parents?" Mio walked out of the bathroom, patting her hair dry with a towel. Dressed in a long-sleeved rockstar shirt and cloth pants, the bassist looked refreshed from the bath she just had.

Mugi motioned for her band mate to sit at the table. "They're going through some homesickness," she informed her friend. "I have to admit that I am missing home as well." She sighed as she served the raven-haired girl some tea. "It'll be a month and half though before we could actually think of making the trip back home."

Mio sadly smiled. "You're right. School has been really hectic and a short vacation back home would really do me some good." She twisted her head from side to side, feeling and hearing the bones in her neck crackle. Her ears twitched at the soft chuckling coming from Ritsu's room. While she and the other turned to see what Ritsu was laughing about, the drummer's bedroom door creaked open and revealed a hair-tussled head.

"We don't have to wait that long to make the trip," Ritsu chuckled, an evil glint shining in her amber eyes.

"Acting all mysterious again," Mio groaned, looking over at Yui and groaning again since the other girl was seemingly entranced by Ritsu's act. "What are you talking about, Ritsu?"

The drummer grinned and joined her friends at the table. "I don't know if you guys heard about it, but we're going to have a long weekend next week."

Mugi and Azusa exchanged surprised looks. "Long weekend?" Azusa repeated. "I don't think there's a national holiday coming up."

Ritsu wagged her finger at their kohai and clucked her tongue in mock impatience. "It's not a national holiday," she told them. "It's a university holiday," she clarified with a smirk. "It's the first time in recent years for foundation day to fall on a weekday. The university has decided to make it a non-class day and hold a celebration." She scrabbled into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "I actually got a letter from the event planner." She waited as her friends leaned over to read the letter.

Yui was the first to look up. "They want us to perform during the celebration?"

Ritsu grinned. "Yup!"

The bassist frowned. "I don't see how this is at all related to making a trip back home," she said suspiciously.

"You don't see it yet," Ritsu pressed. "In any case, we can't say yes to every offer we get. We've been performing quite a lot and I think we need a break. If we choose to refuse the university's offer, we could all head back home on Friday then head back on Sunday." Excitement gilded the drummer's cheerful eyes. "There's more though!"

"What else?" Mugi wondered.

"Sakura High is holding their cultural festival on that weekend as well," Ritsu announced. "I say it's about time we visit our alma mater!"

Azusa grinned. "It would be nice to check out our old school."

"And also check out the light music club," Yui added with excitement. "Azu-nyan should still have kohais in the club right?"

"There should be a couple of them still in the club not unless they left or the club got disbanded," Azusa agreed. "I haven't been in contact with them for a while and since Sawako is here with us, there's no one to ask about the club."

"Thing Sawa-chan will come along with us?" Yui asked.

Mio shrugged. "She might be busy with her masters' classes," she guessed.

"But it won't hurt to ask her if she wants to join us," Mugi added with a smile. "I'm sure she feels the same way as us."

"Who wouldn't miss home?" Ritsu and Azusa chorused, grinning at each other with delight. "Who wants to do the honors then?" Ritsu asked, shaking her head when Yui's hand shot up in the air. "Go ahead and call Sawa-chan then," she told the lead guitarist. The drummer rubbed her sleepy eyes then caught Mugi leafing through a popular fashion magazine. "What's that Mugi?"

The pianist looked up from reading, her blue eyes twinkling. "Oh, I picked this up on the way home. It's the latest issue though I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't catch Justine-san's name on the cover. She put up the magazine and showed it to Ritsu, Mio and Azusa. "It documented a big fashion show a couple of weeks ago and featured a number of pictures with Justine-san in it." She pointed at the said pictures of the Crimson Skies drummer strutting down the ramp. "There's another article about her near the end of the magazine too."

"What did it talk about?" Mio wondered, borrowing the magazine from Mugi and flipping it to the page that had the said article.

"Mostly it was just an interview about Justine-san's career," Mugi replied, having read the article during the train ride home.

"Which career?" Azusa asked.

"Both apparently," Mio answered, skimming through the text. "Although it talks more about her fashion career and mentions only a few tidbits about her music career," she clarified. "If she had a resume, it must be a very long one," the bassist remarked. "She's been in the fashion industry for a few years, but she's obviously done so much just by reading this article about her. She's an in-demand model for haute couture, a lingerie and swimsuit model, a fitness model on some occasions and a cosmetics model as well."

Azusa's brown eyes widened. "That's a lot! How could she juggle all that work?"

Mio shrugged. "I have no idea and I doubt I could do what she's been doing. It sounds and looks pretty tiring."

Ritsu took that opportunity to sidle up next to her best friend and throw her arms around her. "You had one of those dreams of being a model too, you know!" she teased the bassist who expectedly blushed in embarrassment.

"Ritsu! It was just a silly dream of mine back when we were kids!" Mio complained.

"Although our classmates kept saying that you had the looks and the height to be a model," Ritsu pointed out. "You lack a little bit in the height department though."

Yui finished her phone call with Sawako. "She's just off by a couple of inches though! If she really wanted to model, all she would have to do is put on some high heels."

"Two to three inches at least," Ritsu agreed, enjoying how flustered Mio was getting. "Then again, she's not really cut out for the job since she gets so embarrassed easily. She'd probably freeze or trip while strutting her stuff down the ramp."

"Or she'd run or hide from the photographers during a photo shoot," Yui added with a loud laugh.

"Guys!" Mio cried out. "Please! It doesn't matter anyway! I'm not a model! I'm in a band!"

"You could follow in Justine-san's footsteps though," Mugi remarked thoughtfully. "She was in a band and doing modeling at the same time."

"So what did Sawa-chan say?" Ritsu crowed excitedly. "Is she coming along?"

Yui nodded hard making her friends fear that her head would snap off. "She said she'll catch up. She has class until early afternoon so we should just go ahead and she'll catch the train in the afternoon."

"It'll be a light music club reunion at Sakura High!" Ritsu pumped her fist in the air in triumph. "Think we're still famous there?" she asked her friends, looking rather smug.

Mio frowned. "I don't like that look of yours Ritsu," she warned her friend. "You should expect much. We're hardly famous even now so why should we expect those high school students to fawn over us?"

Ritsu scowled, shoulder drooping from being scolded. "There's nothing wrong with dreaming, you know," she mumbled.

"Dream all you want, but don't let your expectations get too high," Mio gently admonished the drummer, her gray eyes focusing on the television when Yui turned it on. "Anything interesting?" she asked the brown-haired girl.

Yui shook her head as she flipped through the channels, stopping on Channel V. "Oh! Hey look!" she pointed at the screen. "I didn't know Terry-san and her friends made a music video."

Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa all put their attention on the television screen. "I think they made around four music videos for the two albums they released," Mio informed her friends. "This particular one was by far their most creative one though."

"What's the title of the song?" Azusa asked, tucking her legs beneath her and leaning forward.

"Lock and Fire," Mio replied. "The video was abstract in explaining the meaning of the song, but people liked it for its artsy feel. It was nominated for best music video at one of those award shows, but it didn't win in the end."

"Being nominated is still a big deal though," Mugi remarked, watching the music video as the camera panned from one musician to another. "I could see why they got the nomination though. It is quite a creative way of interpreting their song." She reached for her bag and pulled out some sheet music. "I've been working on some new songs," she told her friends when they all looked at the music sheets. "You did say that we should start making new songs."

Mio nodded her head in approval. "I've been working on a couple of songs on my own too." She looked at Azusa who shrugged her shoulders.

"I've been fiddling around, but progress is slow. Songwriting doesn't come so easily for me," Azusa admitted, pulling off her hair ties and shaking her long blue hair out. She suddenly grinned. "At least I know I've been making an effort to make songs," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows at the sheepish Yui and Ritsu. "So Yui-senpai and Ritsu-senpai! Have you made any progress at all with the songwriting?"

Yui laughed nervously. "I've done a little bit," she said with little conviction.

Ritsu snorted. "Sure you have," she teased.

"And what have you done?" Mio demanded.

"All the drumbeats are done!" Ritsu replied haughtily.

"Just the drumbeats though," Azusa murmured to Mugi, who covered a grin with her hand, loudly enough for Ritsu to hear. With a squeak, the rhythm guitarist stumbled to her feet and tried her best to avoid the almost rabid drummer. "I was being honest, Ritsu-senpai!"

"Too honest!" Ritsu yelled, throwing herself forward and tacking Azusa to the ground. "Tickle attack!" She pressed her fingers into the very ticklish sides of Azusa. "Surrender!" Ritsu demanded, continuing her attack on the laughing girl beneath her.

"Senpai! I-I can't breathe!" Azusa cried out in between bouts of laughter. She tried in vain to wriggle out of the drummer's hold, but was unsuccessful in every attempt. Finally, she raised her hands up in defeat. "I give up! I give up!" When Ritsu stopped and got off, the blue-haired girl sat up and heaven in long draughts of air to soothe her deprived lungs. "That was unfair, Ritsu-senpai!"

"You deserved it anyway," Ritsu shot back, sticking her tongue out at their kohai.

"She must be telling the truth though for you to react so violently," Mio remarked, patiently tapping her fingers against the table. She eyed her best friend who had a guilty look on her face. "I suppose you really made those drumbeats, but they're just drum solos if you don't take into account the other instruments." She sighed. "Try a little harder okay?"

Ritsu lowered her head. "Fine," she agreed.

"Same goes for you Yui," Mio told the lead guitarist who looked like she had escaped trouble.

"Awww! Mio-chan!" The lead guitarist froze at the warning look she got from the bassist. "Ah… alright. I'll try harder too."

Mio nodded her head. "Good. Anyway, we should have enough time for some practice." She got up and headed to their practice area. She hefted her bass guitar from its stand and slung it over her head and adjusted the strap's position on her shoulder. "Shall we practice then?" Her jaw dropped when she saw not just Yui and Ritsu shy away from the prospect of practicing. "What? You too Mugi and Azusa-chan?"

Mugi smiled sheepishly. "Actually, I've got a paper to finish tonight."

"I have that exam to study for," Azusa informed her senpais.

"Don't even bother," Mio told both Yui and Ritsu who were about to give their own excuses. "I can already tell that your reasons for not wanting to practice are not legitimate." She absently strummed the strings of her bass guitar. "Well, I guess we could put off practice until tomorrow night then," she decided. "I'll put in some practice though. Is it alright if I practice while the rest of you do whatever you need to do?"

Mugi and Azusa nodded. "We'll be working in our rooms so that we won't be bothered and you won't get distracted," the pianist assured the taller woman. She and Azusa got up and headed into their rooms. "Whose turn is it to cook dinner?"

"Mine!" Yui replied, skipping over to the kitchen.

"You better not put anything silly in the food," Ritsu warned. "Your last concoction of cinnamon flavored miso soup didn't turn out well."

"You could just help me out if you're worried about how the food will turn out," Yui retorted.

Azusa shook her head. "Call us when everything is ready," she told her senpai before entering her room.

* * *

_Friday Noon time – Kazemiya University's Foundation Day_

_

* * *

_

Five young women exited the train station and checked if they had all their belongings with them. All were a little weary from the train ride, but were still excited to be home even for just a couple of days. Since some of their group had woken up late, they ended up catching a later train and arrived later than they originally planned. Of course, the culprits were Yui and Ritsu who had stayed up late the night before watching shows on the TV and surfing the internet on their laptops. Both Ritsu and Yui slept for the duration of the train ride and were now wide awake.

"Finally home!" Yui exclaimed, stretching her body. "Okasan and Otosan are happy to have me come home, but it's not the same since Ui-chan is still in Tokyo. She won't be able to come home until the winter break."

Mio ran her fingers through her hair, trying to put some order to it. "My parents are expecting me as well. Okasan said she was going to be cooking a nice meal to celebrate my return."

"Same here," Ritsu added, checking her watch. "Let's meet up tomorrow morning? We could all go to Sakura High together." She skipped off then stopped abruptly a few meters away. "Set your alarm clock, Yui!" she yelled then ran off in the direction of her home.

"Why does she always have to leave a parting comment?" Yui grumbled, watching as Azusa excused herself from the group.

"My parents want to take me out to a restaurant," Azusa explained to her friends. "Let's just text each other on the specific details for tomorrow morning." She fixed her coat then strode away just as a expensive looking car pulled up next to the remaining young women.

"Tsumugi-sama," the uniformed chauffeur greeted as he stepped out of the vehicle and took Mugi's bags. "Welcome home. Your parents are expecting you." He pulled open the passenger's door and waited for his mistress to get in.

Mugi smiled at her chauffeur then turned to bid goodbye to Yui and Mio. "We'll see each other tomorrow then. I'm sure we all need to use the remaining day to spend time with our families anyway. We'll have the rest of the weekend to ourselves." She bowed to them then boarded the car.

"Walking home then Yui?" Mio asked when Mugi was gone.

"Of course!" Yui grinned at her taller friend. "Want to walk together?"

Mio smiled. "Sure." They set out for their homes, ambling down the streets. "Have you heard from Ui-chan recently?"

"We were able to talk a couple of days ago," Yui replied. "She's been doing really well with her studies. She said that she'll be joining Nodoka-chan in the student council next semester."

Mio grinned. "So Ui-chan really did take most of the brains," she teased, laughing when Yui scrunched her face up in reaction.

"Awww! Mio-chan!"

"I was teasing, Yui," Mio laughed. "Still, it sounds like she's doing really well."

Yui nodded. "The Jazz club and Classical club want to recruit her. They both want her skills on the piano and guitar, but for different purposes though."

"That's easy to understand. The Jazz club would want her to play either of those instruments in their genre while the Classical club wants her to play classical music." They stopped at an intersection and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. "She's multi-talented," she remarked.

"I'm multi-talented too!"

Mio grinned. "I never doubted you. Do I need to enumerate your talents just to assure you? You have perfect pitch, you're a fast learner, a great guitarist, and you have a knack for making lyrics."

Yui's face flushed with pride. "Yeah… I guess."

Mio reached out and patted Yui's head. "Don't guess because it's fact." They crossed the street and reached the intersection where they would need to separate to get to their respective homes. "Well here's my stop. Take care going home." She hugged Yui.

"You too, Mio-chan! I'll see you tomorrow!" She returned the hug, pulled away and headed the opposite direction. She stopped at the other side of the street and waved one last time to Mio then skipped off.

Mio shook her head in amusement and started the remaining walk to her own home. Like her friends, she was excited to come home. She was also excited to visit their old high school. Checking her watch, she wondered if Sawako was on her way as well. Maybe all of them could go visit the school together. Unlike the band and herself, Sawako was sure to be given a grand welcome by her peers in the faculty and the students. Sawako was after all a very popular and well-loved teacher before she decided to take her master's degree. The students in particular would be thrilled to see the teacher again. She shuddered suddenly, realizing that the students would also be thrilled to see the bassist again. She was uncertain that her fan club had died out while she was away for college.

* * *

It was nearly seven in the evening when Sawako finally arrived at her hometown. She was tired and was in dire need of rest. She originally didn't want to come along with the girls, but she changed her mind as Yui continued to try to persuade her over the phone. Instead of taking the train like the girls, she took her car instead. It was a long car ride, but it was worth it since she was home. Since she moved to Nagoya, she had opted out of the rented apartment she used during her employment at Sakura High. Norimi was going to put up with her in her home in the meantime. Despite wanting to rest, the bespectacled brunette knew that Norimi had arranged for a mini Death Devil reunion. Sawako had begged her earlier to make sure it was just a mini one and that they would just hold it in her friend's home. She was travel weary after all and she still had to deal with her school work despite the short vacation she was doing. Having brought a couple of her books and her laptop, she planned to finish two of her papers over the weekend.

Checking her GPS, she realized that she needed to turn right on the street Norimi lived. Parking the car in front of the small and quaint bungalow home, she wasn't surprised when the blond and short-haired Norimi burst out of her front door. Switching off the headlights and shutting down the engine, Sawako stepped out of her car and barely closed the door when her friend rammed into her body.

"Sawako! It's great to see you!" Norimi exclaimed, pulling away and grinning wildly.

For a moment, the grin on Norimi's face reminded her of their performances back when they were still a band. Her friend always had that grin on her face whenever they played. "Norimi, let go of me," she told her friend. "I'd rather that you help me carry my things and settle in." She moved to back of her car and opened the rear door. She pulled out two bags and handed one over to her friend.

"What the hell is in here?" Norimi demanded after almost dropping the bag from its unexpected weight.

"Books and my laptop," Sawako replied, closing the rear door then activating the automatic locking system. "I have work to do even though I'm here to spend the weekend."

Norimi furrowed her eyebrows. "You're going to do school work when you should be spending time with us? No can do! You're not allowed to do any work in my house!"

Sawako scowled. "I could have just stayed in Nagoya then. I could have used the weekend to finish the two papers that are due on Tuesday."

"They're still due on Tuesday then!" Norimi chirped, leading her friend into her home. "I'm sure you'll have more than enough time to finish those papers of yours!" She set the bag on the floor and did the same with the one Sawako held. "It's been months since you were last here!" She pulled her friend into her living room and stepped aside as their former band mates gathered around Sawako.

"Finally!" Sakurai Kayo exclaimed after hugging Sawako. "Norimi wouldn't let us eat until you got here!" She ran her hands through her short pale sand brown hair and grinned at the slightly shorter Sawako. She was the tallest in the group and played bass for the band in the band.

"Do you have to put so much importance in the food?" Hoshino Aya demanded, hugging Sawako in turn and pecking her on the cheek. Her long red-brown hair was tied in its customary high ponytail. "We're here to welcome back Sawako and not pig out!" She cupped Sawako's face with her calloused hands and looked closely at her face. The former drummer clucked her tongue. "You haven't been getting enough sleep haven't you?"

"She _is_ a post graduate student," Kayo answered for Sawako, grabbing her by the arm and towing her to the food laden table. "Let's eat! I'm starved!"

"Kayo!" Aya stomped her foot.

"What? I'm sure Sawako's hungry too, you know!" The former Death Devil bassist handed Sawako a cold can of beer then served herself food. "Stop being so stiff and eat already!"

Norimi laughed, enjoying the fun atmosphere her friends made. It was always an enjoyable experience whenever their band got together. "Come on Aya, let's dig in already," she told the drummer and made her sit at the table. They all opened a can of beer and toasted the return of Sawako. Talk accompanied their meal as Norimi, Aya and Kayo assaulted Sawako with questions. Norimi had to hide her smile when Sawako was reduced to nodding or shaking her head as she ate because of the barrage of questions she was getting.

Gulping down the rest of her beer and opening another can, Sawako glared at her former band mates who laughed in reaction instead of going silent like other people would. They were her friends after all and were used to the 'looks' she gave them. "Can't you slow down with those questions? I'm trying to eat!" she told them.

"You could have just kept quiet and went on with eating, you know," Kayo teased, ducking just in time and just barely avoiding the hurled empty beer can.

Sawako kept glaring. "I was trying to be polite by answering your questions and besides, even if I did keep quiet the two of you would just keep yammering on and on," she accused both the drummer and bassist. "Sheesh! The two of you haven't changed."

"Why would we change? You love us the way we are, right?" Aya smiled sweetly at Sawako.

"Are you fishing?" Sawako demanded. "You know I don't like it when you fish for compliments."

"I'm not fishing for compliments," Aya replied evenly. "I just want you admit that you love us the way we are."

Sawako groaned and pressed a hand against her head. She was starting to heat up from the alcohol intake, but she was still quite sober. It would take a few more cans to get her tipsy. "Anyway, I'm done eating so you might as well continue your questions." She raised a hand, stopping both Kayo and Aya from speaking. "One at a time and please don't ask me about love life."

Kayo gave Sawako a playful pout. "But Sawako! That's usually the best topic of conversation!"

"Not in my case," Sawako retorted, turning to Aya. "What else do you want to know?"

"Is it true that you're friends with the members of Crimson Skies?" the drummer eagerly asked. "Norimi told us that you've met and became friends with them."

Kayo nodded her head. "I'm curious myself. Crimson Skies was and still is a popular band even though they've been on break for a few years now."

"I only met the others recently," Sawako began, pushing her spectacles up the bridge of her nose. "It was Terry I met first."

"The bassist, right?" Kayo wasn't a die-hard fan of the band, but she appreciated their music enough to at least know who the band members are.

Sawako nodded and took a sip of her beer. "Yes," she answered. "She's been studying at the Sora College of Music, the associate school of Sora University where I'm studying at."

"How'd you meet her specifically? Were you in the same class or something?" Aya wondered.

Norimi took over in answering for Sawako. "Sawako's suitors were bothering her and Terry-san just happened to be there when it was happening." She grinned when a disgruntled look appeared on Sawako's face. "Terry-san rescued her to put it simply."

Kayo laughed. "How'd she do that? Did she say that she was your date for that day to scare off the boys?" she asked jokingly, grinning wolfishly.

"In a way, yes," Sawako calmly replied. "Although not the kind of date that head of yours is thinking about," she dryly added. "Anyhow, we became friends. I didn't find out until later on that she was the bassist of Crimson Skies. The girls-" she was referring to her former students. "-got a gig at the live house of Terry's friend and that's when we found out about it."

"And Terry-san's band mates?" Aya asked.

Once again, Norimi did the answering. "Terry-san's band mates surprised her at the live house. From what I've heard from Sawako, Justine Hughes is working as a model here while Miles Young and Kelly Russell are here for vacation purposes." She glanced at her friend and saw that she was in the process of finishing her third can of beer. "Did I get that right, Sawako?"

"Pretty much," Sawako replied. "They're all staying with Terry in her condominium."

"You're on first name basis with her?" Aya suddenly asked, looking slyly at the dark-haired woman.

Sawako flushed. "Even though she's pretty fluent in Japanese and is knowledgeable about our culture, she's not used to having honorifics attached to her name. Besides, she was quite convincing when she told me to drop the honorifics." She sighed and shot a warning look at the still grinning Aya. "Justine and the others don't mind though."

"Speaking of Justine Hughes," Kayo suddenly said. "I overheard my next door neighbor talking to his boss about this Justine Hughes being in the area for a commercial shooting." She saw the confused look on Sawako's face and continued her explanation. "My next door neighbor is a writer for a popular gossip magazine."

"Think you could wrangle us an introduction?" Aya asked cheerfully. "Although it would have been a treat if we'd be able to meet the rest of their band."

"I don't know. Justine-san is a busy model after all. Even if we did know where she's doing her commercial shoot exactly, I doubt we'd be allowed to talk to her," Sawako told her friends. "Besides, we're just acquaintances."

"That should still be enough to get an introduction," Kayo pointed out.

"I wonder what kind of commercial she's doing though," Aya let out. "It must be nice to be an international model."

Sawako smiled knowingly. "That would depend on the person," she told her friend. "Justine-san herself admits that she's not exactly loving her work." The teacher smirked at the surprised expression on Aya's face. "She says it's tiresome and stressful."

Kayo grinned and ruffled the drummer's long reddish-brown hair. "You're too short to be one in any case," she teased. The former bassist ignored Aya's retaliatory looks, resting her elbows on the table then propping her chin on her hands. "I heard she's a real tall beauty though. I've seen a few pictures."

"They're a tall bunch," Sawako laughed. "Americans on average are tall to begin with. Justine-san is the shortest in their group. I think she's almost five feet and eight inches. Terry is five feet and nine inches while Miles-san and Kelly-san are over six feet."

Aya giggled as she tried to imagine Sawako standing amidst the group of Americans. "Any of the boys taken?"

Sawako looked appalled. "You're obviously still boy crazy," she said, rolling her eyes. Still, she decided to answer her friend's query. "Miles-san is taken. Kelly-san is single I believe."

"Score!" Aya pumped her fist in the air. "Time to polish up my flirting powers!"

"I wish you the best," Sawako told her friend in an uninterested voice. "Anyway, I'd rather hear about you," she told her three friends. "Although I don't want to stay up too late talking. I promised the girls that we'd meet up and visit Sakura High tomorrow. It's the school festival." She and her friends opened another can of beer and happily updated each other on their lives.

* * *

After much groaning and flinging heavy limbs off her body, Sawako managed to get out of bed and freshen up for the day. She and her friends had stayed up late, which wasn't unusual whenever they got together. While Kayo left in the wee hours of morning to go home, Aya decided to stay over and ended up sharing the floor with Sawako. It was nearly ten in the morning when Sawako finally made it out of the house. She took one look at her car then pressed a hand against her aching head. She lost count of the cans of beers she downed the previous night and she didn't trust herself to drive safely. Besides, some fresh air would do her some good. Checking her cellphone, she realized that Yui had sent her a message a few hours earlier saying that they would be waiting for her at the entrance of Sakura High at eleven. Shaking her head in amusement, Sawako knew that Yui had chosen the time so that she would be able to sample the variety of foods that would be served at the school festival. The teacher sent a quick message back to Yui saying that she would be there to meet them.

Since she opted not to use her car, Sawako headed for the train station to catch the train. Fortunately, she was able to snag a seat on the train. Seeing that the next station was her stop, Sawako looked over her outfit for that day. The month of November always meant chilly weather so she wore a long-sleeved emerald green shirt, a fluffy and warm beige coat over it, jeans and boots. A simple bag that held her wallet, cellphone and other essentials hung from her shoulder. Stepping out of the train and onto the platform, the post graduate student headed out of the station and leisurely walked along the familiar streets leading to her alma mater. She was starting to feel giddy thinking about the grand welcome she was going to get from her co-teachers and students when something or someone zoomed past her. Startled out of her thoughts, Sawako stepped back and looked left to see a black-haired man skid to a halt and look back at her.

"Sawako!"

The brunette blinked in surprise at the man. "Miles-san!" she greeted, smiling as Terry's business partner jogged back to her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, switching to English with ease. She saw the plastic bag Miles held full of snacks and drinks. "Did you go shopping?"

Miles grinned at the smaller woman and held up the plastic bag. "Yeah! I've been wanting to try the yakisoba bread for quite some time now so I decided to look for a convenience store and buy some."

Sawako laughed. Adventurous foreigners tended to be curious about everything. Yakisoba bread was a usual sight in Japan, but foreigners found it strange and interesting. "That's a lot of yakisoba bread though," she remarked, eying the contents of the bag. "Are you that hungry?" she asked.

"Actually, I was going to share them with Justine and the others," Miles replied.

Sawako's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing what Miles just said. "The others?" she wondered aloud. She snapped her fingers in realization. "I heard that Justine-san was in the area to shoot a commercial."

Miles nodded. "That's right. The set is actually just around the corner. Kelly and I decided to tag along since we haven't been exploring much. Justine said she'd explore with us after she's finished working, but she's been at it since early this morning." The former member of Crimson Skies ran his pale hands over his hair. "She said that we should just drag Terry with us if the shooting takes longer."

"Terry is here too?" Sawako asked, suddenly feeling a strange warmth develop within her.

"Of course!" Miles replied. "Well, we had to drag her along with us," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "She wanted to stay home to finish her school work, but once Justine joined us in ganging up on her, she relented in a very reluctant manner." He and Sawako shared a laugh over the redhead.

Sawako smiled up at the younger man. "I can understand though. I wasn't supposed to be here too because I had school work to finish."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Miles asked.

Gesturing at her surroundings, Sawako replied, "This is my hometown."

"Wow! Really?" Miles tucked his free hand into his coat pocket. "It must feel nice to be home!"

Sawako nodded. "It does. Actually, I'm also here to visit my alma mater," she informed the American. "I studied there for high school and took a teaching position after I graduated from college." They moved to the side of the road to allow a couple of cars to pass. "It's also the school festival. The Houkago girls are here too to visit their families and go to the festival."

Miles looked thoughtfully up at the sky. "A school festival, huh?" he murmured. "I've always wondered what those were about. They're most likely different from the school events we have back in America."

Sawako knew what to say then. "Why don't you come to Sakura High then?" she suggested. "You and the others could check out what a school festival is like. The girls and I will tour you around and their former club, the light music club and the other clubs should be performing."

The excitement in Miles' blue eyes brightened the mood. "Could we?" he asked, seeing Sawako nod in agreement. "That would be great! Are you heading to the school now, Sawako? Why don't you come with me and give your suggestion to the others?"

Sawako checked her watch and saw that she still had time. "Sure!" she agreed, walking alongside Miles as they headed towards the commercial's set. "What kind of commercial is Justine-san shooting anyway?"

"Cosmetics," Miles replied. "Shiseido to be more specific," he added as they turned onto another street and headed towards a blockade guarded by a number of policemen. Seeing Miles, the guards waved them through the blockade. "It's here," Miles announced, pointing at a nice home. They were let in by another set of security guards.

"Yo Miles!" The blond-haired Kelly stepped out of the house to greet his friend. "Did you buy that noodle bread you wanted to try?" His amber eyes widened at his friend's company. "Sawako? This is a surprise!" He walked over and shook hands with the shorter woman. "What brings you here?"

"I bumped into Miles while I was on my way to my old school," Sawako replied with a smile. "He asked me to come over and invite all of you to the school festival that I'm going to."

Kelly beamed at the prospect. "Sounds great! We've been here at this shooting for too long and personally, I'm getting bored of all the retakes they're making Justine do." He jerked his head towards the house. "She must be getting tired of it too, but I think they're just about done with wrapping up." He gestured for them to head inside the house. "Terry has been keeping Justine company, but she's been mostly typing away on her laptop." He shrugged his shoulders as they entered the packed living room. "School work I think."

Sawako followed the two American men into a large bedroom that had men packing up the lights, cameras and other equipment. Leaning against the wall were Terry and Justine speaking to each other. Apparently, the shoot was done and people were packing up and getting ready to head home.

Terry was the first to spot her friend. "Sawako!" she exclaimed with genuine surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just visiting home and I'm off to meet up with Yui and her friends to visit our old school," Sawako replied, smiling as the tall redhead loped over and enveloped her in a warm hug. "It's nice to see you too," she told her as she returned the hug. She pulled away and smiled up at the taller woman. "Actually, Sakura High is holding their annual school festival and I was wondering if all of you wanted to come along."

Justine walked over and shook hands with Sawako in greeting. "A school festival doesn't sound bad." She stretched the kinks out of her slender neck. "I need a change of environment anyway after being cooped up in this house for hours." The model rubbed her tired eyes with her hands. "Could you give me a few minutes to change back into my clothes? I'll meet all of you outside."

"I forgot that you and the girls all hail from the same hometown," Terry remarked as they trooped outside of the house. "Their music career started in your school right?"

Sawako nodded. "They joined the light music club and started performing at school events," she told Terry's friends. "I was their homeroom teacher as well as their club supervisor."

"Must have been a handful to deal with a band of girls," Miles mused.

Terry chuckled. "I think it was the other way around. Sawako isn't your typical teacher."

"Terry! Please don't tell them any embarrassing things about me!" Sawako complained, punching Terry on her arm.

Kelly hid a smile with his hand while Miles just laughed at the sight the two women made. "Actually, we're quite aware of your alter ego," he told the very embarrassed teacher. "From what we heard, it's not such a big deal. We know a lot of people who are stranger than you."

Sawako groaned and covered her reddening face. "So I'm strange after all!"

"Of course not!" Kelly interjected. "You're unique and we like you well enough! Terry certainly doesn't seem averted towards you."

Terry shrugged her shoulders. "Why would I be? Sawako's fine the way she is."

"Oh…" Sawako peered at Terry through her fingers and felt more warmth bubble up within her. That was probably the nicest thing Terry has ever said to her and it made her feel all nice and giddy inside. "Thanks…" she told the younger woman just as Justine stepped out of the house and joined their group.

The model eyed the blushing Sawako then her friends. "What did you do to her? It's not exactly a good thing for grown men to embarrass a lady."

Miles shook his head. "We hardly embarrassed her," he protested. "Sawako here is just reeling a little bit from the compliment Terry gave her."

"What compliment?" Terry asked, her emerald green eyes bright against her face and auburn hair. "I was just being truthful."

Justine shrugged. "I guess she just doesn't take compliments too well." Wearing tight jeans, a blue blouse and boots, the model still looked astoundingly beautiful despite the simplicity of her outfit. The former drummer put on her coat and looked at her companions. "Shall we get going then?"

Terry walked at the front of their group with Sawako who led the way. "How long are you here?" she asked, her warm breath creating white wisps in the cold air. Like the rest of their group, the surfer was dressed warmly in a comfortable long sleeved fleece shirt, jeans, a black coat and sneakers. The two men also donned long-sleeved shirts and coats of their own though they seemed comfortable enough in the cold weather.

"Just until tomorrow," Sawako replied. "I do have school."

The former bassist smiled. "That's right. I have school work to deal with as well." They walked comfortably immersed in conversation until the familiar girls' high school appeared before them. As expected, the Houkago girls were milling around by the entrance.

"Sawa-chan!" Yui exclaimed sticking her hand up in the air in greeting.

"Terry-san?" Mio gasped, realizing who their teacher's companions were.

"Justine-san, Miles-san and Kelly-san too," Mugi added, bowing in greeting to the group.

Ritsu grinned and received similar grins from Miles and Kelly. "This is cool! Two bands hanging out together!" Both their groups merged and did the preliminary greetings and explanations. "Ah! So you're all here because you accompanied Justine-san to her shoot." Ritsu summarized. "It's a good thing your shoot was on the same day as the school festival!" she told the tall model. "I'm sure all of you will have a lot of fun here!" She and her band mates led the way into the school grounds, stopping every now and then when the Americans wanted to check out the particular stands. They made a particularly long stop when Miles spotted a stand cooking yakisoba. The tall man generously bought servings for the rest of his companions and insisted that they order more if they were still hungry. Yui was the only one in their group who took up Miles' kind offer.

The strangeness of their group garnered them a lot of attention from the students and outsiders who came to the school grounds. While many of the students seemed to recognize Sawako and the members of Houkago Tea Time, they didn't know what to make of the four unknown Americans. It was rare for foreigners to come to their neighborhood. Most foreigners went to the more famous places in their country.

"I have to go visit the principal and make a stop at the faculty room," Sawako told her companions. "I'm sure Yui-chan and the others can show you around," she told Terry and her friends. "I'll meet up with you later once I'm done visiting with my former co-teachers."

Terry smiled and nodded to the teacher. "We'll see you later then, Sawako." She held back an amused smile as the bespectacled brunette was suddenly surrounded by a horde of uniformed students. "I never really took her seriously when she said that she was rather popular among her students."

Ritsu laughed at that comment. "She was popular because the students saw her as beautiful, elegant and refined," she explained to Terry's friends. "She tried to hide her Catherine persona, but once it got out, the students loved her more."

"I'm sure they find her to be quite intriguing and cool," Kelly mused, smiling as they followed Yui and her friends into the school building. He and Miles peered into one of the classrooms and were quite surprised to see that it was a maid café.

Justine rolled her eyes and pulled on each man's ears. "No," she firmly told the struggling men. "I don't understand why the two of you are so intrigued with these kinds of cafes! The both of you have surely visited several of them back in Nagoya!"

"Awww! But Justine!" Miles protested.

The model frowned hard at her friend. "No buts or else I'm going to tell Kate on you," she threatened, smiling when Miles flinched. Fortunately, Kelly didn't seem interested in putting up a fight. "Boys," she sighed with impatience.

"We're men!" Miles said defensively.

Justine shrugged. "Boys," she repeated, smiling when the college girls giggled at her remark. To them, she explained, "They really are boys whenever they act like this. At least Terry and I are mature enough to balance out their boyishness." They brushed past a star-struck group of students who were quite taken by the good looks of the Americans. "Is it normal to be stared at so much here in your former school?" Justine asked as they bumped into similar gaping groups of students.

Miles chuckled. "What's wrong Justine? You should be used to all this staring."

"I know I get a lot of stares, but that doesn't mean I'm used to it," Justine retorted. "Besides, I'm not the only one getting the appreciative stares."

Miles raised his eyebrows. "They can stare at me all they want, but I'm already taken."

"They stare because of my body," Kelly mumbled, avoiding the admiring eyes of the students.

Terry shrugged. "I guess my red hair is a beacon."

"They're staring at you because of your beauty too!" Justine informed her friend. She looked over at Mio who was also getting a lot of attention from the young girls. "You're getting similar treatment too," she told the raven-haired bassist.

Mio looked up suddenly and grew embarrassed. "I've been away from high school for three years now, but my fan club has apparently gotten bigger."

"Fan club?" Justine repeated, feeling a smile pull on her lips. "Ah! It must be another common thing here in your country although the fan clubs back home are quite a hassle to deal with too." She jerked her head at Terry. "She had a fan club back when we were in college. She was quite uncomfortable with the attention."

"Who wouldn't be uncomfortable?" Terry grumbled as they headed up the stairs to the upper floors. "With people constantly trailing after you and giggling, it was annoying. They followed me all the way to the beach too! Now that was even more annoying! One silly girl followed me into the deeper water and almost ended up drowning!"

"You saved her though," Kelly reminded his friend.

"Now that I think about it, perhaps she decided to drown on purpose to have me save her," Terry replied in annoyance. "My popularity spiked when we made it big in the music industry and it just made lying low a more difficult task."

"Azusa-chan, why don't we take them to the music room?" Mugi suggested, pointing to another set of stairs.

The youngest girl in their group nodded eagerly and led the way upstairs. "The music room was like our second home," she told the foreigners. "We were all worried that we wouldn't attract any new recruits after my senpais left for college." They got to the top of the stairs and stood before the familiar door. "Thankfully, many of the students were inspired by our band and flocked to our club recruitment." Azusa slid the door open and smiled at the several shocked faces within.

"Senpai!" four of the students chorused, running forward in a fast moving herd and surrounding the blue-haired woman. Four other girls stayed back, but chose to stare at the foreigners standing outside of the room.

"I can't breathe!" Azusa yelled, laughing in spite of herself. "Come on guys! Let go of me and let the others come in!" She grinned as her kohais pulled away and ushered the guests into the comfortable music room. Since there was a clear lack of seats, the current light music club sat on the floor and let their guests take the chairs.

"Senpai! You should have told us that you were coming!" Black hair cut boyishly short topped the head of the student who spoke.

Azusa grinned and patted the slightly taller girl's shoulder. Despite growing older, Azusa hardly grew at all in terms of height. It disheartened her slightly that most of her kohais were taller than her. "It was a somewhat impromptu trip and I wanted to surprise all of you," she told them. "Being club president isn't running you haggard, Nanami-chan?"

The black-haired girl shook her head vehemently. She had been a sophomore when Azusa was a senior. "I've got a lot of help and I did learn from the best!" She stepped to the side and looked at her senpai's companions. "I recognize Yui-senpai and the others, but who are the _gaijins_?" She yelped when the former light music club president smacked her hard on the arm. "Oww! What was that for senpai?" she demanded, noticing the amused look on the redheaded American's face.

"You say it in such a rude way," Azusa scolded her kohai. "For your information, one of those _gaijins _understands and speaks Japanese fluently."

Nanami blushed. "Oops…" She turned to the Americans and bowed in apology.

A green-eyed brunette stood next to Nanami and laughed. "Typical of Nami-chan to be so brash," she remarked with a grin.

"Since she's still very brash, it's obvious that you haven't been doing your job in improving her behavior!" Azusa teased her other kohai who happened to be the yearmate of Nanami. "In any case, I hope you've been doing well as the second-in-command, Hisako-chan."

"The two of them make more mischief than good," another girl with mouse brown hair spoke up. "Won't you back me up, Mai-chan?" she asked another girl whose black hair was styled in a bob.

Mai looked reproachfully at her classmate. "I'd rather not speak badly about our senpais especially in front of guests," she said in a well-mannered voice. "Besides, you get into as much trouble as well Misao-chan."

"But Mai-chan!" Misao protested in a high pitched voice.

Justine shook her head and traded amused looks with Kelly and Miles. "I don't really understand what's happening, but I can tell that whatever happens in this room has got to involve a lot of fun."

Azusa smiled sheepishly then turned to address the club members. "Anyway, we're here to watch your performance later." She gestured at the Americans behind her. "We're also touring our friends around. They're from America." She quickly explained the circumstances behind each American's stay in the country then encouraged the club members to try to speak in English for the sake of their guests.

They were conversing about all sorts of things when Sawako burst in out of breath. "God! It took me forever to get rid of my pursuers!" She flipped her hair back and leaned back against the door. "Sheesh! I'm starting to regret the popularity and fame I worked so hard for back when I was still teaching here."

"Ah! Sawa-chan sensei!" the club members all stood and bowed respectfully to the former club supervisor.

Sawako blinked and readily smiled at the girls. "Good to see all of you doing well!" she told them. The smile suddenly transformed into a menacing scowl as she advanced on the high school students. "AND WHO SAID YOU COULD CALL ME THAT, YOU LITTLE BRATS!" she yelled, waving her fist at them.

"Eeeek!" the girls squealed and tried to hide behind one another.

"But Azusa-senpai and her friends call you that!" Misao whimpered.

"THAT ONLY MEANS THAT YOU'LL BE GETTING THE SAME BEATING THEY GOT FROM ME WHEN THEY STARTED CALLING ME THAT!" Sawako yelled, her hazel eyes blazing. A firm and gentle hand pressing against the top of her head snapped her out of her Catherine persona. "Eh?" She twisted around and saw that it was Terry who had put a hand on her head. Her eyes widened in realization when Terry gave her that knowing look of hers. The teacher groaned. "I did it again, didn't I?" She tried not to notice the very amused looks on Miles, Kelly and Justine's faces.

Terry chuckled and patted the shorter woman's head with her hand. "At least it provided us with some entertainment," she assured her friend teasingly.

Nanami clapped her hands suddenly. "Oh no! We're expected at the auditorium right now!" She and the rest of the club members scrambled around the room and got their equipment ready. "Azusa-senpai! We're going ahead! Please come watch us!" She and the members waved a quick goodbye to their guests and ran out of the room.

Mugi held her hand against the familiar cupboard that once held all their tea tableware. Now it was just another storage space for the club. "We should have tea later," she announced, beaming at her companions. "I was wondering if all of you would come over to my home later to do that."

"Us too?" Miles pointed at himself.

The pianist smiled. "Of course."

Yui bounced over to the open door and waved her arms in the air to get her friends' attention. "Come on! We should get to the auditorium if we want to get good seats!" Her band mates eagerly followed her out of the room while Sawako and the former Crimson Skies band left at a slower pace.

Terry walked alongside Sawako as they made their way down the stairs and through the halls. "You must be feeling nostalgic right now," she remarked.

"What makes you say that?" Sawako looked up into the smiling face of her redheaded friend.

"It wasn't so long ago that those girls were preparing themselves to perform in that same auditorium," Terry replied. "You do care for them, right?" Her emerald green eyes twinkled.

Sawako let out a huff and refused to answer that question.

"Now, now! It's a simple enough question to answer, you know!"

The older woman furrowed her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out at the surfer as a reply.

Walking behind the two women, Justine subtly observed the interaction between her good friend and the Japanese woman. She smiled inwardly at how at ease Terry acted with Sawako. Even as she observed Terry throw her head back in laughter at something Sawako said, the model had an inkling that there was possibly something else blossoming between the two. Still, she wasn't entirely sure yet of her discovery and decided to keep it to herself for the time being. It was nice to see that their being friends was doing wonders for the somewhat lonely Terry who was going to have to live on her own again once she, Miles and Kelly returned to America.

* * *

_Eight in the evening…_

_

* * *

_

Eight young women and two men piled out of the van that had picked them up from Sakura High School. While Sawako and the Houkago girls calmly followed Mugi into the sprawling domain of her family home, the Americans all nervously looked at each other. They had not expected the blond-haired girl to be extremely wealthy. Once they entered the airy and well-lit foyer of the home, they were greeted by an army of servants. Terry and her friends stiffened and looked desperately confused until Mugi smiled and dismissed the servants.

"The tea and pastries are being prepared," the pianist informed her companions and gestured for them to follow her into a large living room. "Please make yourselves comfortable!" She left her guests to check on the kitchen staff who were preparing the refreshments.

Terry was the first to speak after a long silence shared among her former band mates. "Definitely didn't see this coming," she muttered.

Justine shrugged. "She seems very humble despite the wealth and extravagance," she commented.

Sawako smiled and patted Terry's hand. "You'll get used to it," she cheerfully told them. "You should have been the least surprised after going to one of Mugi-chan's rest houses!"

Terry scowled. "I was more shocked with the servants. I didn't think that a house could employ that many people!"

Mugi returned with two servants carrying trays laden with tea and pastries. "Sorry to keep you waiting." She gestured for the servants to place their burden on the table. "Please help yourselves! I picked the teas especially for this occasion!" She served everyone tea before settling herself on a chair. "Wasn't today fun?"

Azusa gratefully consumed her tea and took a bite of her chosen pastry. "Definitely," she replied. "The light music club did really well in their performance!"

"Although I certainly didn't expect them to invite you girls on stage to perform a special song," Kelly remarked, smiling as he recounted the performance in his head.

Yui grinned sheepishly as she scooped up a third pastry. "We couldn't really refuse!"

"Good thing Mio didn't trip or anything!" Ritsu added, ignoring the glare coming from her best friend. "Her fan club was hoping for a repeat of a certain performance," she said wickedly.

"Ritsu!" Mio cried out in embarrassment.

"That was a large contingent of your fan club," Miles teased, his blue eyes bright with mischief. "Most of the cheering I heard was for you." He and the others laughed at the reddening Mio. "You're certainly very popular! You should use it to your advantage!"

Ritsu dropped her fist against her palm. "How come I never thought about that?"

"No way!" Mio protested, garnering another round of laughter.

Sawako stopped chuckling when she saw the message Norimi sent to her cellphone. Apparently, her best friend had come down with a nasty cold and was bedridden. She hardly had enough cold medication at her home so she asked if Sawako could buy her the medication before heading home. Finishing her tea, she got to her feet and caught the attention of the group. "I need to go on an errand," she informed them, keeping the explanation short. "Is there a pharmacy nearby, Mugi-chan?"

The pianist nodded. "It's just a couple of blocks away from here." She gave Sawako precise directions and ran it over with her one more time. "Should I ask our chauffeur to take you there?" Mugi looked out of the window and frowned at the pitch blackness of the night.

Sawako shook her head. "I'll be fine. It's just a quick trip anyway."

Terry got to her feet as well. "I'll come along just in case," she decided.

"Are you sure? It's cold outside and I don't want to burden you."

The surfer shook her head and took their coats from the servant who brought it to them. "I'm sure," she replied firmly. "Come on!" She nodded to Justine, Miles and Kelly then led Sawako out of Mugi's mansion.

The two women walked side by side in comfortable silence. They simply enjoyed each other's company. When they reached the small pharmacy, Terry gestured for Sawako to enter without her. "I need to make a quick phone call back home." She twiddled her fingers at the teacher and grinned. "Business matters," she explained then walked off with her cellphone pressed against her ear.

Sawako pored over the over-the-counter cold medicines then selected a pack of pills and some cough syrup for Norimi to consume. She paid for her purchases and made some small talk with the cashier as well. When she stepped out of the store to look for Terry, she wasn't sure where the redhead had gone. She sighed and decided to wait for her friend to come back rather than look for her. A good few minutes passed when she heard footsteps. She turned towards the sound. "Finally! Where did you-" her voice got caught in her throat when she saw the familiar man staring in surprise at her.

"Sawako? Is that you?" Shaggy black hair topped a sculpted face.

Sawako could only stare in reply. She couldn't believe it. She was standing face to face with the boy she had pined for back when she was still a high school student. "T-Takeshi-kun?" she stammered, looking down at her feet, unable to meet the man's eyes.

The man gave her a charming smile. "Ah! It is you!" He gazed at her attentively. "You've grown more beautiful."

Sawako flushed a deep red and refused to meet his gaze. She didn't know what she was feeling at that very moment. She was a little bit happy that she had bumped into her first love and that he had given her a compliment. On the other hand, this was the same boy from the past that had made her change so much then rejected her in the end.

Takeshi glanced around then took a step closer to the frozen Sawako. He raised a hand and caressed Sawako's cheek. "You're so elegant and refined now," he mused softly, gently forcing the shorter woman to look at him. "I like it."

"Y-You said you liked your girls wild," Sawako stammered, trying to sound angry.

The man laughed. "I was but a boy back then," he replied. "Besides, when I told you I liked wild girls, I meant it along the lines of being a party girl." He gave that same charming smile that was sure to make any girl's knees go weak. "You're more of a catch now," he told her. "Though you've put on a little weight. " He shrugged. "Oh well, I'm sure something could be done to remedy that."

A harsh voice pierced through the cold air and startled both the man and Sawako. "She's not a toy that you can dress up to your liking," Terry dangerously said as she ambled towards them. Standing in front of Takeshi, the man realized that the foreign woman was taller than he was. "You're a fickle idiot who doesn't deserve the attention of any woman."

"Mind your own business!" Takeshi growled, shoving Terry away. "What do you know anyway? Everyone has their preferences when it comes to men or women!"

"Then find someone that _fits _your preferences!" Terry growled. "Don't go making people change to your whims just to satisfy your urges then end up rejecting them in the end!" She sidestepped another oncoming shove from the man. With a quick swipe of one of her well-muscled legs, she threw the man onto his back. "Leave before I decide to do something worse to you! Don't ever bother Sawako again!" She frowned angrily as the man scrambled to his feet and ran off without a backwards glance. Turning to Sawako, she gave her a worried look. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I should have been here waiting for you. He wouldn't have bothered you if I was here."

Sawako shook her head and clutched her purchases against her chest.

Terry sighed. She took Sawako by the arm, towed her to a nearby park and sat her on a bench. "Are you alright?" she asked gruffly. "He was an asshole."

The bespectacled brunette nodded her head in agreement still unable to speak. They sat next to each other for several minutes until Sawako was finally able to speak. "He was-"

"The boy that made you go into your wild phase, right?" Terry gazed at Sawako with gentle emerald green eyes.

Another nod was her reply. "I'm sorry…" she whispered to Terry, feeling ashamed.

"What for?" The surfer leaned back, bracing her hands against the bench as she looked up into the starlit sky.

"I shouldn't have reacted like that… like a love struck girl."

Terry sighed. "First love, I suppose," she murmured with a shrug.

"First love sucks," Sawako dispassionately said, clenching her hands into fists atop her lap. "I was naïve… and stupid." She took in a long and shaky breath and looked up at the skies as well. "I wanted to impress him so much. I wanted his attention… his love." She laughed bitterly. "I changed myself to his liking and when I changed enough, he threw me away."

"Some people do that, Sawako," Terry softly told the older woman. "They just play with you until they get bored." She locked gazes with Sawako. "He never liked nor loved you," she told her frankly. "He never deserved you."

"I wasted so much time and effort trying to get his attention," Sawako whispered, feeling the cold wind bite into her exposed skin. "My love was foolish. I was a fool to allow him to make me change into someone I'm not." She stared at her clenched hands.

Terry tentatively reached out and placed a warm hand against Sawako's own hand. "If a person truly loved someone, he would love her the way she is and not change her according to his preferences." She shook her head. "Some people are just too materialistic and picky when it comes to the people they want to court or be with."

Sawako shook her head and looked into Terry's emerald green eyes with her pained ones. "I was too plain and homely," she told Terry. "I could understand why he and the other men I dated wanted me to change."

"You don't need to understand them," Terry insisted, gripping Sawako's hand comfortingly. "They're not worth it at all." She smiled down at the teacher. "Sawako, you're perfect just the way you are."

Warmth bloomed and shot through her body upon hearing those words. Her friends felt the same way towards her, but none of the men she dated felt that way about her. There was always something about her that they disliked and wanted to change. It was always her who had to change. Change was inevitable and it was certainly true in a relationship, but she had always believed that if there was to be change, it would be a two-way thing. It never occurred that way in her case though. As she looked into those kind emerald green eyes, she felt a lump form in her throat. Here was a rare person who took and liked her the way she was. Why did Terry have to be so kind and understanding? Her lips trembled with unexpected emotion.

"Never change yourself for the sake of being noticed and loved, Sawako," Terry quietly told her. "You'll know that they truly love and appreciate you if they accept you for who you are." This time she gripped both of Sawako's hands in her own. "Your true friends and your former students certainly accept you." She smiled. "I'm quite certain myself that I like you."

Pressed on by her heated consciousness, Sawako gave in to impulse and leaned in to press her lips against Terry's. A thrill shot through her body as she felt those lips against hers. She didn't know what came over her, but it just… felt right. Terry had spoken to and touched her heart. Pulling away, she saw the shock develop first then a sudden blush color Terry's nicely angled face. They stared at each other for long moments. Sawako opened her mouth to speak when a familiar voice called their names.

"Sawa-chan! Terry-san!" Yui called loudly, jogging towards the pair. Justine followed the younger girl. "We were starting to get worried so Justine-san and I decided to look for the two of you." She didn't seem to notice the awkward atmosphere between the two women.

Justine on the other hand was quick to notice the awkward tension between her friend and the teacher. She took one quick look at the deeply red and confused Terry then at the worried Sawako. It hit her in an instant. The model knew what had just transpired. It wasn't the right time to question the two women, but she would find out sooner or later. Instead she beckoned for both Terry and Sawako to get to their feet. "We should head back. It's getting late." She sighed inwardly when Terry got up abruptly and strode off towards the direction of Mugi's home. The model allowed herself to give one meaningful look at Sawako before jogging after her friend.

"Sawa-chan?" Yui leaned over and worriedly looked at her former teacher. "Are you alright?"

Sawako shook her head and started the walk back to Mugi's home. She was certainly in a dilemma. Why had she done that? Why did she kiss Terry so impulsively? The brunette frowned and pressed her fingers against her warm lips. Was it a mistake? The thought lurked in her mind for the rest of the night.


	9. Confusion

_Chapter 9: "Confusion"_

The snow was coming down in a steady heavy stream outside the window of Terry's condominium. Christmas was just around the corner, a week and half away to be more specific. It had been over a month since Terry and her friends returned from their trip to the hometown of the Houkago Tea Time band. It's been over a month since that astonishing kiss and Terry was still very confused about it. She had walked away from the kiss and from Sawako, feeling uncertain about her feelings. Once she reached the blond-haired pianist's home, she immediately bid them goodbye and informed them that she was going to head back to the hotel she and her friends had booked. The Houkago girls had all looked at each other, thinking that something was strange. Miles and Kelly also rose to their feet and worriedly looked at the deeply bothered redhead. They were about to ask questions, but Justine had walked in at that moment and gave the two men a warning look. Bidding goodbye to the college students, the men and Justine followed Terry back into the foyer where they bumped into Sawako and Yui. Terry walked past the two women without a glance. Miles and Kelly hurriedly said goodbye to Sawako and Yui before chasing after their friend who was behaving strangely. Justine lagged behind a bit and spoke softly to Sawako so that others wouldn't hear what she was saying. She gave the flustered Sawako a meaningful look then left.

Ever since then, Terry buried herself in both her business and school work. She worked furiously and determinedly, balancing the two without totally burning herself out. Quinn-Young Development was progressing well. It was only a week ago when they finally put out their latest product in the market. The sound editing and music mixing program she and her fellow programmers labored on for the past several months were finally on display in various tech stores. The entrepreneur wouldn't know the initial sales and profit for another few days or so, but so far her employees were giving her good feedback. Miles was also extremely pleased with the results and was already planning meetings with their bigger clients who would possibly order the program in bulk. He, Kelly and Justine were soon returning to America. Miles and Kelly had used up their vacation time while Justine's modeling contract was up.

Terry didn't seem concerned that her friends were heading back home. In fact, she proclaimed that she would be glad once she has her condominium all to herself again. Her three friends didn't really believe her though. They knew that Terry would miss them fiercely once they left. Kelly had teased that their redheaded friend would easily lose the weight she gained from eating his home cooking for the past few months. Miles on the other hand didn't bother teasing his business partner. Terry was rather blunt when she told him that he was more useful overseeing the company back in Los Angeles. As for Justine, Terry had nothing to say to her. The surfer turned programmer realized earlier that Justine had figured out that something had happened between her and Sawako. She half expected the model to lecture her, but Justine avoided the topic. The model understood perfectly that Terry needed space and time to think.

Terry was still trying to make sense of what happened that night. Feeling confused and embarrassed, she avoided Sawako like she was the plague and even stayed away from the Houkago girls. Shannon had even called her up, worried about why she wasn't coming to the live house anymore. The live house owner also mentioned that the Houkago girls were also wondering about her sudden disappearing act. Terry shook her head and tried to focus on her latest school project. She didn't want to deal with this at the moment. There was still work to do and she had to accompany her three friends to the airport in three days. Her condominium's living room was a mess of bags and boxes full of souvenirs her friends were going to take home with them. She would never admit it, but she was not looking forward to being alone once again.

* * *

"You sure you got everything? Didn't leave anything at my condo?"

Miles nodded his head, grinning at his friend. It was nth time Terry was asking that question, but he knew that it was just her way of showing that she was worried and that she was going to miss them. They were standing around at the entrance of the airport after having a taxi take them there from Terry's abode. "We triple checked everything, Terry!" Miles helped Kelly load their luggage onto a trolley. "If we did leave anything behind, it's yours to keep."

"She's fussing isn't she?" Justine walked up to them with their tickets held in her hand. She shook her head at their redheaded friend who was staying behind. "Stop worrying already. We're adults who can take care of ourselves."

Terry scowled. "I was just making sure of that," she retorted. She stood still and allowed Miles to envelop her in a warm and long hug, lifting her off her feet.

"I'm going to miss you," Miles growled gruffly into her ear. He set her back on her feet and saluted at her. "I'll keep the business in order while you're away," he promised, stepping back to let Kelly have a turn.

"Try to eat properly Flame Hair," Kelly fondly advised his friend as he hugged her. "You can exercise all you want, but it wouldn't mean anything if you didn't consume the right food." He pulled away and playfully pinched her nose.

Justine was the last to approach, taking Terry's hand in her own and towing her several feet away from Miles and Kelly. "Terry…" she started, looking meaningfully at her friend who was already shaking her head. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I can tell that it's been bothering you."

"It's nothing, Justine," Terry gruffly told her model friend.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Justine replied patiently. She reached out with her hand gently cupped Terry's face. "Avoiding the matter won't make you or the situation better," she advised. She raised an amused eyebrow when Terry looked surprised. "What? Even Miles and Kelly realized that you were avoiding Sawako."

Terry grimaced at the mention of the teacher's name. She had not wanted to bring that particular matter up with her friends especially Justine who was obviously the most learned when it came to situations like this.

"You're confused," Justine gently told her friend. "I'm sure that she's confused as well." She glanced around then lowered her voice. "She was the one who made the first move, am I right?"

Terry gave her the slightest of nods in reply.

Justine smiled. "There are better ways to deal with this."

"I haven't found any of these better ways yet," Terry grumbled.

Justine shook her head and leaned up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Terry's forehead. "Take care of yourself, okay? You should talk to her if you want to end your confusion." She led Terry back to Miles and Kelly. "Ready to go?" she asked the two men who nodded. They did one last round of goodbyes then entered the airport, looking over their shoulders and waving one last time to Terry until they disappeared from her view.

Pulling her coat closer to her body, Terry pushed her hands into her pockets and decided to walk back to her home. She knew it would take a good hour or so on foot, but she needed the time to think about what Justine had just told her. She was freezing by the time she got home. She brushed off the snow that gathered on her hair and shoulders then shuffled into her bedroom to change out of her clothes. Falling onto her bed, Terry grabbed for the small calendar atop her bedside table and saw that Christmas was already next week. She knew that Christmas was less of a big deal here in Japan compared to America. She released a long sigh and rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow. Christmas was about family, but she had no plans of going home to be with them. She just didn't fit in with her parents' new families.

Even if she did go home, she wouldn't be able to spend the holiday with any of her friends who were going home to be with their own families. Terry didn't want to be an intrusion. Shannon had already gone home ahead of Miles, Kelly and Justine and would be back the day after New Year's Eve. She just had to accept that she was going to have a very lonely Christmas. At least she had her books and school work to keep her company… if that was really company.

* * *

_Christmas Eve_

* * *

Yui hummed happily to herself as she skipped down the shopping district of Nagoya. Even though she barely had enough savings to buy all her loved ones Christmas gifts, the guitarist was adamant in getting gifts for everyone. So far, she was done shopping presents for her parents, Ui-chan, Nodoka and Azusa. Checking her list, she still had to purchase something for Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Sawako. At least she was almost done although she couldn't deny that the various food stands and restaurants distracted her for most of the day. She ended up eating dinner at a quaint restaurant and another hour of roaming around afterwards for her to complete her Christmas gift list.

She was hurrying home since she and her friends were going celebrate Christmas Eve together. None of them had love lives and therefore decided to be each other's dates. Ritsu proclaimed that tonight was for the lonely hearts club. Crossing the intersection, Yui skid to a stop in front of a bar with a large sign that said 'acoustic night' at the front. Curious, the guitarist stepped inside and slid into a vacant seat on the bar. She was sipping her drink when her eyes finally settled on the night's current performer. She almost sputtered, but managed to clamp a hand over her mouth. Sitting on a metal stool on the small stage was Terry, solemnly strumming an acoustic guitar while an unknown woman crooned a love song into the microphone. It was the first time in nearly two months since she last saw the redhead. She and her friends had talked of the possible things that could have transpired between Terry and Sawako, but they couldn't figure it out. Sawako refused to talk about it when they asked so they were left in the dark.

The audience applauded the guitarist and singer when they ended the song. The two musicians bowed to the applauding audience and stepped off the stage. While the singer was surrounded by her friends, Terry merely walked to the corner of the room and placed her guitar in its cloth case. Yui watched as the American woman slung the guitar onto her back and nodded to a man who looked like he was the manager of the bar. Yui quickly paid for her drink and stood in the path of Terry who was making her way to the exit.

Terry's emerald green eyes widened when she saw the person blocking her way. "Yui? What are you doing here?" She gripped the strap of her guitar case.

Yui smiled up at the tall woman. "I was just dropped by," she replied. "I was on my way home when I decided to pop in here and check things out." She tilted her head to the side and thoughtfully looked up at her friend. "I was surprised when I saw you playing on stage."

Terry shrugged. "It's just a part time gig," she absently said. "I finished all my school work too soon and everything is going well with the business back home so I had nothing to do."

"I thought you were going home for Christmas," Yui remarked.

"You were mistaken," Terry tiredly told the younger woman. She had no intention of telling Yui that she didn't want to go home to any of her families. "Anyway, shouldn't you be heading home?"

"Well yes! We're holding an event just for ourselves actually!"

"And what event is that?"

"Lonely hearts club night!" Yui replied with an impish grin.

Terry couldn't help but smile. "I forget that Christmas here in Japan is more on the romantic side."

"Are you going to stay home alone, Terry-san? Why don't you come over and celebrate with us?" The cute guitarist looked hopefully at the auburn-haired woman. "We have gift-giving later too!" She raised her shopping bags for Terry to see, suddenly realizing that if Terry were to come she wouldn't have a gift for her. "You don't have to participate of course since it would be too impromptu," she hurriedly assured the older woman.

Terry reluctantly smiled then nodded her head. What did she have to lose anyway? She was indeed lonely for the holidays. "I guess I can come along. No sleepover though," she told Yui who was squealing happily. "Lead the way then." She followed the shorter girl out of the bar. Fifteen minutes later, Terry found herself gazing at the multi-colored Christmas wreath hanging on the door of the Houkago girls' apartment.

"I'm here!" Yui announced after pushing the door open and entering her abode. "We could start celebrating!"

Mio shook her head and kept her eyes glued on the television. "Late as usual," she said absently.

"Where's Azu-nyan?" Yui asked, dropping her shopping bags on the floor.

"In my room, Yui-senpai!" Azusa called from within her bedroom. "I'm just doing some last minute gift wrapping!"

"Better hurry it up! Mugi and I are just about ready to serve tea and cake!" Ritsu called from the kitchen.

Mugi was the first to notice their guest as she carried a steaming pot of tea to the low dining table. "Terry-san!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes widening in surprise. It was rather unexpected for the former bassist to come visit. After all, they hadn't seen Terry in almost two months. "What a… surprise!" Azusa got out of her room upon hearing that Terry was there while Ritsu ran into the living room. Mio simply looked away from the television and gasped.

Terry bowed her head to the five young women. "Sorry for intruding," she told them. "Yui here caught me at a nearby bar and asked me to come over." She forced herself to smile to ease the awkward atmosphere. "I heard that this is a lonely hearts club celebration and I figured I'd fit in quite well."

Ritsu pushed her pale sand-brown hair away from her face. "You're lonely too, Terry-san?"

Terry nodded. "Christmas back in America meant spending time with your family. Unfortunately, I'm here while my family is in America so I'm pretty much lonely."

"No boyfriend to celebrate Christmas with?" Ritsu suddenly asked, yelping when Mugi kicked her shins.

"No boyfriend," Terry told them. She leaned her guitar against the wall and sat next to Mio at the table. Once she was settled, she turned to the bassist and asked, "Aren't you girls supposed to be heading home?"

"We're actually going home on the 27th," Mio replied. She stared hard at Terry with her gray eyes.

Terry frowned. "What? It's rude to stare."

Mio grimaced. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's just that you've been away for a while now. It felt like you were avoiding us in a way."

Shaking her head, Terry struggled to come up with a believable excuse. "I… was kept busy by school work and the business back home," she told them in a straight voice, hoping that the younger girls would buy her excuse.

"Did you have a fight with Sawa-chan?" Yui suddenly asked, plopping down next to Terry.

"Yui!" Ritsu, Azusa, Mio and Mugi yelled.

The guitarist scrunched her nose up. "What? We all know that it has something to do with Sawa-chan!" she told her friends. "Besides, Sawa-chan has been acting really weird too!" For one of the very few times, there was an accusatory glint in Yui's brown eyes.

Terry mumbled incoherently, turning away to avoid the pointed stares she was getting.

"Come on Terry-san!" Mugi gently prodded the older woman on. "Perhaps we could help out, but you have to tell us first what happened."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Terry quietly said. "It would be best if we drop the subject."

Ritsu opened her mouth to try to force the redhead to spill everything, but Mio had given her a warning look. The drummer sighed and decided to slice the cake. "Anyway, we should just have fun!" she tried to make light of the situation. "Have some cake, Terry-san!"

"I get first slice!" Yui seemingly forgot about the touchy topic she had brought up in favor of food.

The drummer smacked Yui's head. "I was talking about Terry-san and not you!" she crossly told her friend. "Mugi, give Terry-san a cup. I'll slice the cake!" The two young women bustled to their tasks while Terry absently watched a music show on the TV. She gave a slight bow of thanks when Mugi and Ritsu set a steaming cup of tea and a slice of cake in front of her.

"Why didn't any of you girls decide to go out? It might be better to party outside than stay stuck at home." Terry eyed the younger women seated around her.

Yui giggled. "You did say that Christmas here is more on the romantic side. Most people who do go out for this particular holiday go on dates with their significant others."

"And none of you have significant others?" Terry asked.

All with the exception of Ritsu shook their heads. The drummer looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged. "Outside of my family, I'd have to say that the next significant person would be Mio," she casually said, smiling inwardly when she saw her best friend blush. "What? It's the truth! You are my best friend!" Grinning at the rest of her band mates, she added, "You're also part of the significant list."

"We should be!" Azusa chirped.

Mugi shook her head in amusement. "Missing your friends already, Terry-san? They went back to America already, right?"

"A little over a week ago actually," Terry answered. "They're doing well thankfully. Miles is back to taking care of our business. Kelly is also in the process of picking property for his clinic."

"How about Justine-san?" Azusa asked.

Terry smiled. "She's taking a break from modeling. She told me that she wanted to bum around for a month or so." She rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin on her hands. "To put it simply, she's just going to coop herself up in her home."

Yui's eyes widened. "Can she really do that? I'd probably die if I was stuck at home for a week!"

Ritsu laughed. "I don't think you could stay cooped up at home for even a couple of days, Yui-chan!" The rest of their band mates laughed at that comment.

"If it's alright, could I be a bit frank?" Terry asked, warming her fingers against her cup of tea.

The band members looked at each other, unsure of what Terry was getting to. "Sure," Mio answered for them.

"I know you girls all study at an exclusive university for women," Terry began. "But you're all at an age where boys or young men in particular would be interested in courting any of you." She caught Azusa smirking while Yui looked sheepish. "You certainly get out enough with your gigs and other activities, but from the time I've known you, I haven't seen a single boy in your company."

"Well there have been boys, but you just haven't seen them Terry-san," Azusa told the older woman. "In our case though, the boys or young men as you call them mostly seem interested in Mio-senpai and Mugi-senpai."

"Sounds a bit unfair," Terry said teasingly as Mugi chuckled and Mio blushed. "You're all beautiful in your own ways, but it's typical of boys to go for that kind of woman."

"You mean tall, long-haired and womanly," Ritsu huffed, knowing that she didn't really fit into that description.

"Terry-san doesn't exactly fit into the stereotypical description either," Mugi cheerfully pointed out. "Well, she is tall!"

"My only redeeming factor, right?" Terry said jokingly.

"You're still attractive, Terry-san!" Mio blurted out.

Yui nodded her head in agreement. "We've seen a lot of guys stare at you at The Cobalt Loft."

The business owner shook her head. "I just look different," she told them.

"Just admit that you're attractive, Terry-san," Ritsu scolded. "All of us agree with that." Her eyes flicked over to the TV then drooped down in boredom. "Want to play cards?"

"Sure," Terry agreed, waiting patiently as Ritsu went to her room to retrieve her deck of cards. They had gone through a couple of rounds of Go Fish and Terry was in the process of teaching the younger girls how to play poker when the doorbell rang. They all looked up at the sound.

Azusa handed her cards over to Mugi who had sat out and opted to watch the game. "I'll get it. Keep playing." She got to her feet, walked to the door and opened it. "Huh? Sawa-chan!"

Upon hearing the name, Terry felt her whole body stiffen. This was not what she wanted to happen. She was sitting down at the table with her back facing the door. It was a good thing she was positioned that way, because she wouldn't know what to do if she and Sawako looked at each other. It was certain that it was going to be one hell of an awkward moment. She stared hard at the cards she held in her hands as her mind scrambled on what to do.

"Can I come in?"

Azusa's eyes flicked back at the suddenly stiff and quiet Terry then gulped. "Uhh… sure!" She stepped aside to let their former teacher in. "Sawa-chan, why are you here? We all expected that you'd be out… with someone."

Sawako smiled and flapped her hand at her students. "Out with someone? Please! I'm very much single tonight and that's why I decided to pay you girls a visit!" She held up a large and heavy plastic bag. "I bought some beer and I was planning to share it with all of you!" She walked past Azusa and almost stumbled when her hazel eyes caught sight of that familiar shock of red hair.

"Uhhh! Why don't you sit down Sawa-chan?" Yui shot to her feet and gestured at the table. "I'll go get a cooler so that you could put all the beer in it!" She strode into the kitchen to do the task.

Mio scooted over closer to Terry to give Sawako some space at the table. "You could sit here, Sawa-chan," she told their teacher, eyes flicking back and forth nervously from Sawako to Terry. Rather than let the two sit next to or adjacent to each other, she figured that it would be for the best if she stayed in between the two older women no matter how awkward it would get for her.

"Thanks Mio-chan," Sawako coolly said, gingerly taking the offered seat. As she lowered herself to the floor, she subtly glanced over at very straight-faced Terry through her lowered lashes. As she expected, Terry looked very aloof and was trying her best to avoid meeting her eyes. She stopped herself from frowning just in time. It distressed her that Terry was acting this way. "Beer anyone?" she asked as Yui bounced back with a cooler filled with ice.

The five band mates automatically reached into the plastic bag and claimed their own cans of beer. They all watched nervously as first Terry got one then Sawako took one for herself. "So Sawa-chan!" Ritsu forced cheer in her voice as she spoke. "Are you going home for the break?"

The teacher turned her attention to the drummer and smiled. "I am actually. My parents insist that I come home." She suddenly sighed and looked quite weary. "They've been hounding me about finding a man and settling down."

"But Sawa-chan, I thought you said that you believed in true love and nothing arranged," Yui cried out in horror.

Sawako flapped her hand at her former student. "Oh I know I said that, but that's just me being idealistic." What Yui said was true though. Ever since she was still a child, she had always believed that it would be true love that would make her actually marry. As she grew older and tried her hand at dating, she realized that it was mostly a vague kind of dream. Sure there were a few who found true love, but most people don't get that kind of ending and Sawako was almost sure that she was not going to be one of them. "My mother in particular has arranged for a handful of _omiai _that I must attend."

"_Omiai!" _Mio murmured to herself, shocked in spite of herself. "You could just say no!"

The bespectacled woman shook her head. "I can't say no to my parents or rather it's not that easy," she told them. "I've managed to keep the _omiai _at bay by keeping myself busy with dating guys, but as you can see-" she pointed to herself. "I'm quite single. It doesn't help that I haven't been too successful with the recent men I've dated."

Azusa looked sympathetically at their mentor. "You'll find the right one, Sawa-chan!"

Sawako laughed. "Maybe, but I don't think it's going to happen soon." Her hazel eyes flicked over again to the silent Terry who was staring at her opened can of beer. "Anyway! Aren't you girls going to exchange gifts?" She grabbed her handbag and shuffled her hand in its contents. "I brought one so that I can participate!"

Once again, the younger woman in the group all glanced at each other with uncertainty. "Well… we were going to do it a little bit later," Mugi slowly replied, smoothing her long pale blond hair with her hands. It was her way of masking her growing anxiety.

"Errr… not all of us have gift," Yui pointed out.

"Actually, I have one, but it's something all of you could use," Terry told the girls as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a coupon booklet. "I was cleaning up my condo when I chanced upon this. Justine must have left it behind. Anyway, there are ten coupons for the all-you-can-eat buffet at some upscale hotel downtown." She set the booklet on the table and got to her feet. "Anyway, that's my gift to all of you." The redhead walked over to her guitar and slung it across her back. "I should get going anyway." She was slipping on her shoes by the door when she felt someone quietly walk up to her.

"Can we talk?"

Terry looked down at her shod feet already knowing beforehand that it was Sawako who had approached her. "Is there anything we have to talk about?" she coldly asked.

Sawako sighed. "Yes," she replied seriously.

Terry's shoulders drooped in resignation. "Not here," she muttered, pulling the door open and stepping outside. She didn't bother waiting for Sawako to put her shoes back on and just headed down the stairs. She only stopped at the steps that led up to the front door of the apartment building. Standing there with the snow falling heavily around her, she waited until Sawako caught up. "Can we make this quick? It's cold and I have a long walk back to my condo." She didn't mean to sound so cold, but her emotions were going wild within her.

Sawako felt hurt at the way Terry was talking to her. Had she lost her friendship after all when she had impulsively kissed her? She shook her head. No, she could still work things out. "Terry, please…" she started, reaching out and touching the tall American on the arm. She almost breathed out a sigh of relief when Terry didn't recoil from her touch.

"I can't Sawako…" Terry harshly whispered. "I just can't. It's just not… right."

"What's not right?" Sawako asked.

"This!" Terry gestured at the both of them. "The two of us? It wouldn't work out!" Her emerald green eyes blazed as she looked at the older woman before her. "I wouldn't be right anyway," she muttered, turning away.

"How can you say that about yourself?"

"I'm not exactly the most fortunate person when it comes to love," Terry replied, feeling cold.

"So am I," Sawako pointed out.

"That doesn't mean we're good for each other!"

Sawako gazed at her auburn-haired friend. "Does it matter? I like you, Terry." She stepped down onto the sidewalk to be on the same level as the taller woman. "I wouldn't have made any of those moves on you if I didn't like you." She gently took Terry's cold hand into her own. "You managed to not just speak to my heart, but you also managed to touch it. I've never had anyone I dated in the past give me the same feeling."

"I don't have any feelings for you."

Sawako swallowed a forming lump in her throat and stepped even closer to Terry. This time, she reached up with her hand and pressed it against Terry's face. "Was I wrong then?" she murmured, yearningly looking up into Terry's confused eyes. "Tell me that you didn't kiss me back on that night."

Terry stiffened and tried to rip her gaze away from Sawako, who kept her hand in place on her cheek. "It was… unconsciously done…" she muttered.

Sighing, Sawako positioned herself in front of Terry. "Let me be the judge of that," she told her, slowly leaning up to her tiptoes.

"Sawako… don't-" It was too late for her to resist. Once those soft lips found hers, she surrendered to her flailing emotions within. Two months ago, she ran away from the kiss. Now, her arms found themselves twining around the smaller woman's waist and pulling her closer. She was swamped with passion and yearning as she consciously kissed Sawako back. Heat seared through her body as their lips slanted over one another's over and over again.

Sawako just wanted it to go on forever.

"They're kissing!" someone yelled from higher up.

The two women pulled away at the sound of the voice. They both looked up in time to see four pairs of hands yank a familiar brunette away from the fire exit. Terry breathed heavily while Sawako looked at her expectantly. It was the teacher who broke the silence first. "I don't want to be alone…" she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself.

Terry gazed back at the suddenly shy and passive Sawako. It wasn't too long ago when those same words came from her own mouth. She may have had fewer relationships than Sawako, but she was quite sure hers ended in worse manners. She had sworn off on all romantic relationships after her last one during her early college life. Was she ready for another one now? Making up her mind, she walked back to Sawako and gathered her in her arms. "You don't have to be alone," she softly whispered into Sawako's ear.

The brunette buried her head into Terry's chest and wrapped her arms around her. "Will you… stay with me?"

Terry nodded and buried her face into the crook of Sawako's neck, breathing in her scent. "I don't want to be alone too."

* * *

"Look! They're hugging now!" Yui exclaimed to her friends who were still trying to pull her away from the fire exit. "Now wonder the two of them have been acting strangely! They're in love!" She finally lost her grip on the metal railing and allowed her friends to drag her back inside their apartment. "What? Aren't you happy for them?" Yui demanded.

Mio was fiercely blushing as they all settled down in their living room. "Who ever thought that Sawa-chan was so bold!"

Ritsu laughed. "Sawa-chan has always been bold although she's not so bold when it comes to the romance department! Weren't you shocked Azusa-chan?" She eyed the silent girl. "Azusa-chan? Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Azusa snapped back to reality. "Sorry. I was just thinking." She shook her head. "I think I'll sleep early tonight." She quickly bade her roommates good night and headed into her bedroom. Lying on her bed, she replayed the moment that just transpired between their former teacher and Terry. It was certainly shocking and… romantic. She had watched Sawako move in first and tentatively kiss the taller redhead. Terry was stiff and looked like she was going to wrench away, but instead she pulled Sawako closer as the continued to kiss. Azusa sighed yearningly. It was definitely very romantic.

"Azu-nyan?" Yui called from her door. "Are you alright? Can I come in?"

"Go ahead Yui-senpai!" Azusa called back to her senpai. She raised her head up to watch the older woman come into her room and close the door behind her. She moved a little to the side of her bed to let Yui sit on her bed with her.

"Feeling alright?"

Azusa nodded her head. "I'm fine. Just a little bit tired from what just happened. It's a little much to take in for the moment."

"Terry-san and Sawa-chan?" Yui asked, smiling.

"Did you ever suspect them?"

Yui paused and thought about it. "Well, no," she answered. "I only started thinking that something was going on after the cultural festival back in Sakura High." She grinned at Azusa and threw herself onto her back on her friend's bed. "Do you think what they're doing is wrong?" she suddenly asked.

Azusa shrugged. "Homosexuality isn't fully accepted in most countries," she replied. "Even though America is progressive, the gays and lesbians aren't always treated right."

Yui laughed. "You didn't answer my question, you know!"

The blue-haired woman grinned. "I suppose I find it a little weird, but if Sawa-chan and Terry-san are happy I have nothing against it." Just thinking about those two was making her feel a little depressed.

"I knew it," Yui cried out. "There _is _something wrong!" She suddenly pounced on Azusa and began to tickle her. "Give it up! Tell me what's wrong!" Yui commanded as her fingers slid and poked along Azusa's ticklish ribs.

"Yui-senpai! Stop! I can't breathe!" Azusa yelled, breathing heavily when Yui finally stopped the assault on her ribs. She stared up at her ceiling as her chest rose and fell. "I… was just thinking about…" she paused.

"Go on," Yui urged her kohai.

Azusa suddenly blushed. "N-No… it's nothing."

"Azu-nyan! Do you want me to tickle you again?" Yui's fingers twitched threateningly. "Tell me!" she demanded.

The still blushing rhythm guitarist turned her head away. "I was just curious… about the kiss Terry-san and Sawa-chan shared."

Yui cocked her head to the side in thought. "Why are you curious about it? It's just kissing."

Azusa shook her head. "It's different when it's between a man and a woman," she pointed out. "It's different too when the kiss is shared between two men or even two women." She suddenly felt uncomfortable talking about such a topic with her senpai. "Don't mind me, Yui-senpai. I'm just being silly."

"How would you know that it's different?"

Now her discomfort increased considerably. If she lied or refused to tell, Yui would never leave her alone. Keeping her eyes away from her senpai's face, she softly said, "A boy kissed me once…"

"What?" Yui cried out, woe on her face. "Someone stole Azu-nyan's first kiss before I did?"

"Yui-senpai! This is embarrassing!" Azusa grabbed her pillow and thrust it against her face. The experience had happened in her freshman year of university. The boy had been a student from another college and had diligently watched all of their gigs. She was curious and flattered by the attention of course, but it came to a head when the boy claimed a kiss from her. It was unexpected and somewhat forced. She made her feelings clear that she wasn't ready for a relationship and the boy promptly disappeared.

Yui continued to woefully moan about the stolen first kiss for a few moments. "I still can't believe it!" She grabbed the pillow and pulled it off Azusa's face. "I should have claimed your first kiss years ago!" she complained.

Scrunching her face, Azusa muttered, "Sometimes I have to wonder if your affection for me has gone overboard."

"But I love you, Azu-nyan!" Yui proclaimed complete with dramatic gestures of her hands. "I really do!" Almost instantly, the mock woe and drama was gone from Yui's face. "Your first kiss wasn't all that good, am I right? You wouldn't be wondering about how a kiss is between two women if it was a great kiss."

Azusa nodded. "I guess I'm also idealistic when it comes to romance and love," she admitted. "I thought kissing was supposed to be warm and passionate."

Yui chuckled, reaching over and affectionately patting Azusa's head. "It's supposed to be like that if you're kissing the one you love."

"But still!" Azusa protested. "I felt nothing! Absolutely nothing! I know he was just an admirer, but I should have felt something… right?" She sighed. "I guess I'm just too dense."

"You're not dense," Yui firmly told her kohai, leaning down to plant a kiss on Azusa's forehead. When she pulled away, their eyes locked and neither could look away. Their faces and chests were mere inches away from each other, but both could certainly feel the tension in the air.

Azusa took in a sharp breath when her senpai's face inched lower. She could feel her heart slamming against her chest and her mind screaming for her to stop whatever was going to happen. But her eyes were focused on those kind brown eyes and those descending soft and slightly parted lips. She had just about made up her mind to push her senpai away when those lips pressed against hers. _"Kami-sama…" _Azusa thought as her eyes widened at the lip contact then slowly fluttered close to enjoy the unexpected kiss.

The cheerful lead guitarist of Houkago Tea Time didn't know what came over her when she suddenly decided to kiss her beloved kohai. Perhaps it was a little bit of jealousy after finding out that someone else had claimed Azusa's first kiss. She has always been fond of her kohai, but after deciding to kiss her, she realized that her fondness meant something more. Hesitantly but with gentleness, she cupped the back of Azusa's neck and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She felt Azusa shift beneath her, but she didn't seem to mind what they were doing.

"Hoy! Yui! You've been in there for a long time!" Ritsu called from the other side of the door. Her voice made the two women spring apart like rabbits. Fortunately for Yui, she easily reverted to her usual demeanor as she jumped off the bed and headed for the door. Azusa on the other hand was still struggling to control the furious blush evident on her face. The kohai was now sitting up on her bed with her fists tightly clenched atop her lap.

Yui opened the door to admit Ritsu, Mugi and Mio. "We were just having some extended girl talk," she told them cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the intimate moment she just shared with Azusa.

Ritsu leaned around Yui and eyed the still blushing Azusa. "What happened? Why is she red?" She frowned as Mugi went over to Azusa to feel the younger woman's forehead.

"She's warm," Mugi announced. "Maybe you're catching a fever?"

Azusa shook her head. "I'm… fine! Just a little tired."

Mugi still looked worried. "We should let her rest just in case." She moved away from the bed and headed back outside.

"Good night, Azusa-chan," Mio told the youngest member of their band then left the room.

"You too, Yui!" Ritsu smacked her friend on the head. "You shouldn't have had that extended girl talk when Azusa-chan isn't feeling well!" She too left the room as Yui rubbed her head.

Shaking her head, Yui looked up and gently smiled at the still blushing Azusa. "Good night, Azu-nyan." Her words were like a caress and it certainly made Azusa shudder from how she said it. Without waiting for a reply, Yui stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

_A few days after New Year's Day…_

* * *

Sawako was genuinely glad that she was back in Nagoya. She had a most trying time during her stay with her parents over the winter break. The handful of _omiai _she had to attend at the behest of her mother was certainly not enjoyable. By the end of everything, she ended up having a fierce argument with her mother and it would have gotten worse if not for her father. She shook her head as she quickly unpacked her luggage. She didn't want the experience to mar her return to school. Besides, she had one surefire way to cheer herself up. Stalking over to her desk, she picked up her cellphone and utilized the speed dial function.

"_Hello?"_ A sleepy voice spoke into Sawako's ear.

"Is that all you can say?" Sawako demanded, feeling herself smile.

"_I was in the middle of taking a nap."_

"I was hoping you'd be ecstatic to hear my voice," Sawako complained, heading to her small living room and plopping down on the couch.

"_I'd like to think that it's you who's ecstatic to hear my voice,"_ Terry drawled. _"You were the one who called me after all."_

"Meanie!"

Terry chuckled. _"Did you just arrive?"_

"Yes," Sawako replied, running her fingers through her burgundy hair. Feeling smug, she asked, "Did you miss me?"

"_Hardly,"_ Terry replied in a straight voice, knowing that it would irk her girlfriend. _"Not with you calling me almost every night."_

"A good girlfriend would always say that she misses her lover!" Sawako pointed out, her lips formed into a pout.

"_Who says?"_

"Everyone!" Sawako snapped.

"_I really should research on this 'everyone' reference," _Terry murmured. _"People keep claiming that this 'everyone' is always right." _

"Stop teasing me!"

"_Oh alright," _Terry willingly agreed. _"Will you at least let me finish my nap? I hardly got any sleep last night. I was up for most of the night dealing with business matters."_

"Could we meet up after your nap though?" Sawako asked hopefully. It had only been a couple of weeks since they last saw each other, but she dearly missed her lover.

Terry sighed. _"Give me an hour?"_

"Do you want me to come over?"

_"Let's just meet at Aki's Café. I'm going to need some caffeine if I'm going to entertain you."_

"You're teasing again!" Sawako accused, smiling in spite of herself.

_"You did say that you wanted attention,"_ Terry reminded her girlfriend sleepily, holding back a yawn. _"Just think of this as my way of giving you attention."_

"You suck Terry!" Sawako said half-heartedly.

_"But you love me anyway,"_ Terry teased. _"Now let me sleep! I'll see you at the café in an hour!"_

"No 'I love you'?" Sawako sweetly asked before Terry could hang up.

_"Stop being so demanding. You'll be seeing me soon enough."_

Sawako pouted. "But I want to hear it!"

Terry grumbled incomprehensively for a few seconds. _"… love you," _she murmured then hung up.

Hearing that was enough to make Sawako grin and feel like she was on cloud nine. Skipping back to her bedroom, she began to rummage through her closet for an outfit to wear for later on. She couldn't wait to see Terry again.


	10. Helping Hand

_Chapter 10: "Helping Hand"_

Leaning up on her tiptoes so that she could speak into her tall girlfriend's ear, Sawako whispered, "There's a dark alleyway coming up." She sultrily winked at Terry Quinn when she looked at her. They've been dating for nearly two months now and from the time they've been together, she realized just how fun it was to tease and embarrass Terry.

Terry furrowed her eyebrows at what her lover was implying. "Unless you want to use it as a shortcut, I have no interest in that alleyway," she told Sawako.

"You're no fun at all," Sawako complained, pressing closer into Terry's side. She had managed to convince Terry to take her out on a date that afternoon. It had been difficult to convince her at first since her American girlfriend wanted to do work for her company. All it took was a little more begging, which made Terry relent. They had just watched a movie at the theater and were now on their way back home. Terry had offered to walk Sawako home even though it meant a longer walk to her own home for the redhead.

"Will you stop doing that?" Terry muttered, shifting uncomfortably as Sawako continued to press into her side. "People are staring!"

Sawako grinned. "So?" They were walking arm in arm and during the times she didn't snuggle up to her girlfriend, people on the streets would merely think that they were close friends. "I'm trying to be affectionate!" she tried to reason out with the taller woman.

"Try to be affectionate when we're not out in public," Terry darkly replied, a light blush roving her cheeks.

"Awww… are you embarrassed being with me?"

The blush deepened. "Only when you're acting this way in public," she replied. As they made their way to Sawako's modest apartment, Terry couldn't help but smile whenever Sawako would giddily grin up at her.

"I think you're enjoying being in love," Terry remarked as they crossed the last intersection.

"Is it wrong to enjoy it?" Sawako shot back, reluctantly letting go of Terry's arm when they got to her apartment building. Slyly glancing sidelong at the redhead, she asked, "So… do you want to come up for some coffee?"

Terry gaped at her slightly older lover and threw her hands up in exasperation. "We just had coffee before coming here!" she said with a scowl. "And I have to wonder if you're saying that particular phrase for a reason. The way you say it makes it sound like a double entendre."

Sawako pouted and stuck her tongue out at her redheaded lover. "You're really no fun!" She then started to look from side to side, checking if the coast was clear. Seeing that it was indeed clear, she tilted her head back and pursed her lips expectantly.

"I'll see you next time, Sawako," Terry said, turning on her heel to leave.

Reflexively, Sawako grabbed Terry's arm and forced her to turn back around. "Oh no you don't! You haven't kissed me at all today!" she exclaimed.

Terry rolled her eyes. "I told you, I don't want to show any public displays of affection."

Sawako smirked as she leaned up and wrapped her arms around Terry's neck. "We're hardly in public now since there aren't any people around." Before Terry could argue with her, she quickly pressed her lips against Terry's and let their bodies meld closely together. By the time they pulled away from each other for air, Terry's face was a deeply crimson color. It wasn't just because of the kiss, but because an elderly couple who just happened to be walking by at the right moment was giving them dismayed looks.

"Seriously…" Terry muttered, pressing her hands against her head. "When are you going to listen to me?"

Sawako's hazel eyes glittered with mischief behind her spectacles. "Maybe you should be the one listening to me instead! I did suggest that you come inside! We would certainly be away from the public's eye that way!" She reached up with her hands and straightened the collar of Terry's shirt. She stepped back and smiled up at her girlfriend. "Oh! I almost forgot!" The teacher reached into her purse and pulled out a ticket. "My university is holding a fair next weekend," she informed her. "The girls will be performing as well and they want you to come."

Terry nodded as she took the ticket and placed it in her wallet. "How are the girls coping?"

"What do you mean? Are you asking how they're coping as a band or as students?"

The redhead shook her head in reply. "No, I meant…" she stopped suddenly and sighed. "Never mind," she murmured.

"Just ask, Terry," Sawako urged her on.

"How are they coping with knowing that… you and I…" Terry frowned as she struggled with words.

Fortunately, Sawako perfectly understood where she was going. "They're taking it in pretty well," she assured her lover. "They all agree that as long as the both of us are happy, they'll be happy as well." She smacked her fist against her hand. "Oh! I do have a juicy tidbit for you!" She grinned wildly as she motioned for Terry to lean down so that she could whisper into her ear. "You were right!" she said excitedly.

"Right about what?" Terry patiently asked.

"Right about Yui and Azusa!" Sawako replied, playfully tweaking Terry's nose. "I heard from Ritsu a few days ago that Yui has been courting Azusa."

"And what does Azusa feel about it?"

Sawako shrugged. "Ritsu said that Azusa is unsure so she's been keeping Yui at bay." She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Yui might be a little too aggressive chasing after Azusa."

"She probably takes after a certain aggressive woman I know," Terry drawled, barely flinching when Sawako slapped her on the arm. "What?" she demanded through narrowed eyes. "I was being honest!"

"I'm not aggressive!" Sawako hissed, propping her hands against her hips.

"Oh really?" Terry remarked with a knowing smile. "I seem to remember that you've been making all the first moves on me."

Sawako blushed at that comment then grinned. "If I have my way, I'll soon get you in my bed." She playfully winked at her girlfriend who shrugged off the suggestion. The teacher sighed and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I guess I really have to go all out and seduce you."

Terry stiffened and quickly hugged Sawako. "I'm leaving," she said, lightly pecking Sawako's cheek then striding away.

Sawako watched until she couldn't see Terry anymore before going into her apartment. As she closed and locked the door behind her, she couldn't help but sigh with impatience. It was hard enough to share kisses with Terry. Actually getting her into bed would be even more difficult. Was it wrong for her to be impatient after being together for a couple of months now? It was embarrassing to think about, but she yearned to feel and touch her girlfriend's body and vice versa. She shuddered as she thought about the scenario. Firmly gripping her emotions, Sawako silently told herself to have more control. After all, she didn't want to scare Terry off. She just had to be patient and wait until Terry was ready for the next step in their relationship.

* * *

Mugi covered a smile with her hand as she watched Yui try to woo Azusa for the nth time that day. It didn't matter how small or large the action was for their youngest band mate simply remained silent or embarrassingly brushed Yui's advances off. She knew that it must have been difficult for Azusa to do that especially with the aggressiveness of their lead guitarist. Yui did respect Azusa's act of keeping her at bay, but she still kept up her efforts of trying to win Azusa over. When Yui finally stopped her advances and decided to head out to do some grocery shopping, Mugi sat next to the younger woman on the couch and warmly smiled at her. "Still confused?"

Azusa stiffly nodded, her blush starting to fade from her cheeks.

Mugi rested her elbows against her knees then propped her chin against her hands. "Can I be frank with you?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" Azusa looked a bit surprised then nodded her head to give her permission.

"Did you like it when Yui kissed you?"

The fading blush roared back on as soon as Azusa heard the question. "W-W-What are you talking about?" she stuttered, abruptly turning her head away.

Mugi clucked her tongue. "You said it was okay for me to be frank and seriously Azusa-chan, it's a simple enough question that requires a simple enough answer." She continued to smile at her friend albeit in an encouraging manner. From what Mugi knew, their rhythm guitarist had not spoken to anyone about what had happened between her and Yui. Yui did inform all of them that she was going to court the youngest member of their group, but they had no idea what spurred that decision. "She did kiss you, am I right?"

Azusa nodded. "She did…" she whispered back.

"And?" Mugi prodded.

"It was… nice," Azusa slowly said then buried her face into her hands. "Oh I don't know! Yes, it felt nice, but it made me feel confused too!"

"Kissing is supposed to be nice," Mugi remarked thoughtfully.

"Yui-senpai mentioned it," Azusa added, clamping her lips shut knowing that she just gave Mugi an opportunity to strike.

"And I can pretty much guess that it led to the kiss," the pianist said in amusement. "Care to explain? I'll be glad to listen and maybe I'll be able to give you some advice."

Azusa took a deep breath and began her explanation. She told Mugi what she and Yui were talking about inside her room and how one thing led to another. Fortunately, the way she stuttered through her explanation didn't seem to give Mugi a difficult time of understanding her. "Mugi-senpai?" Azusa hesitantly called out her friend's name when she remained silent.

"Hmmm? Oh sorry," Mugi apologized. "I was just thinking of your current situation. It shouldn't be as complicated as you make it seem."

"Huh? But it _is _really complicated!" Azusa protested.

"Well the only thing that's making it complicated are your feelings," Mugi pointed out. "Can you try telling me what you feel about Yui?" She raised her hand to stop Azusa from speaking. "I know she's your friend and your senpai, but could you try telling me more than that?"

The blue-haired woman sighed then nodded. "Well… how do I say this?" She tiredly rubbed the back of her neck. "I know I usually feel embarrassment whenever Yui-senpai would go all affectionate on me," she began, looking down at her hands. "Still… I suppose I did feel somewhat flattered." She wrung her hands together in her nervousness.

Mugi sighed. "It's difficult to get a straight answer from you," she remarked. "Would you have anything against being in an intimate relationship with Yui?" she asked forwardly.

Azusa gulped and was about to refuse answering that question, but changed her mind when she saw the concern in Mugi's bright blue eyes. "I…" she began then cleared her throat. "I guess I wouldn't find anything wrong with it," she admitted, lowering her eyes to the floor. "I've never had anyone court me seriously except for that boy who followed me around and kissed me."

Mugi nodded. "Well there you have it."

"Have what?"

"You just said so yourself that you have no reason not to get into a relationship with Yui," Mugi replied. "I suppose you're nervous about the whole taboo revolving around same-sex relationships?"

"Yeah…" Azusa weakly nodded her head. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable enough being out in the open with a girlfriend." She sighed and felt envious of Terry and Sawako. Those two hardly looked like they cared about what other people would say about their relationship.

"Well, you could date each other secretly until you're more comfortable being out in the open," Mugi suggested. "I doubt Yui would refuse that kind of setup. As long as gets to be with you, she won't have any qualms."

"Mugi-senpai… you always seem to know the right kind of advice to give," Azusa affectionately leaned her head onto the pianist's shoulder. "Even though you're not in a relationship, you just happen to know what to say to make someone feel better."

Mugi smiled. "All those years of being observant paid off, huh?" She playfully tweaked Azusa's nose. "Anyway, I don't think you need any more help from me. You should talk to Yui whenever you're ready."

Azusa got to her feet and was about to head into her room when a thought entered her mind. "Mugi-senpai," she began, scuffing her foot against the floor. "Don't you… have someone?"

The pianist sadly shook her head. "There's no one," she replied, playing with a lock of her long blond hair. "Besides, I doubt my father would like it if I got into a relationship at this time. He and my mom feel that I'm not ready yet."

For a moment, Azusa was certain that her friend's shoulders were drooping down in resignation. It was as if her senpai was just about to give up when it came to love. Almost as quickly as it started, Mugi was back smiling away like nothing was wrong. "I'm sure you'll find someone, Mugi-senpai," the rhythm guitarist assured her friend.

Mugi shrugged. "I suppose." She turned her head to the sound of the door bursting open to admit Yui and Mio toting grocery bags. "Well! Here's your chance!" She winked at their kohai and went to lend a hand to Mio who was struggling with three grocery bags.

Azusa gulped when Yui's lively brown eyes met hers. Her own eyes could only hold Yui's gaze for a few seconds before it got too uncomfortable. Mugi was most likely right, but she definitely couldn't have that talk with Yui now. She needed to gather enough nerve to do it first.

"Where'd Ritsu go?" Mugi asked as they trooped to the kitchen to unload the groceries.

"She went over to Sora International to talk to the events coordinator in charge of their annual weekend fair," Mio replied, storing milk and the meat they bought in their refrigerator. "It's our next gig."

"Sawa-chan?" Mugi guessed, grinning outright.

Mio nodded and grinned back. "Yes. She was the one who recommended us for the live set on their campus." As soon as they got all the groceries stored and out of the way, the four band mates settled around the dining room table. "She even said that we'll get some compensation for playing."

"Compensation in what form?" Azusa asked dryly. The few times Sawako had gotten them gigs that offered them compensation, they usually weren't in the monetary form. They often got leftover food from the event.

Mio smiled. "We're getting paid in cash," she informed her friends. "It's not much for a one-hour set, but it's a good start. From what Sawako said, the events committee was willing to pay us 25,000 yen plus the profit from whatever merchandise we manage to sell will also be ours to keep."

"That's good!" Yui clapped her hands gleefully. She and Mio were hard at work at making copies of a select compilation of songs. Mio had thoughtfully made the album art while Yui stuck to burning the CDs. "What time are we supposed to perform?"

Mio shrugged. "I'm guessing late afternoon. I heard from Sawako that the students invited a couple of professional bands to perform in the evening to attract more people." She propped her chin against her hand and gazed at her friends, smiling when Mugi joined them at the table. "Ritsu will give us all the details when she gets back from the meeting." She frowned a little bit when Yui started to leaned over the table to yearningly gaze at Azusa. "Yui, please! Give her a break!" she scolded her friend who just squirmed in her seat in reaction.

"I'm just looking!" Yui protested, giving her kohai one last suggestive look.

Mio furrowed her eyebrows. "That didn't look like _just_ looking to me," she replied, watching as Mugi sympathetically smiled at the blushing Azusa. "Give her time! You don't just jump into a relationship you know!"

"Patience is a virtue after all," Mugi added, winking at Yui. She glanced at the wall clock and got to her feet. "Anyone up for tea?" Several minutes later, they were all enjoying a freshly brewed pot of tea. Mugi had used one of the imported tea mixes her father had sent her. They were in the process of enjoying a second round of tea when Ritsu arrived with good news.

"We're good to go for the Sora International festival," the drummer announced to her friends as she sat at the table. "We've been given the four p.m. slot to perform." She nodded her thanks to Mugi who handed her a cup of tea.

"Thirty minutes?" Azusa queried.

Ritsu shook her head and grinned at all of them. "One hour," she replied, laughing as her friends all cheered. Aside from their weekly one-hour sets at The Cobalt Loft, their band could only manage to get thirty minute-sets at other establishments and events since they weren't very well known. This festival was going to be a huge stepping stone for them especially since Sora International's affiliate music college was also going to take part in the festivities. All of them knew from Sawako that there were quite a number of graduates from the Sora College of Music that had made it big in the music industry and would most likely be in attendance at the festival.

"We should plan our set list," Mio decided, grabbing some scrap paper and taking an offered pen from Mugi. She tapped the pen against the table as her friends gathered around her. "I'm guessing we could fit around ten to twelve songs in an hour."

Azusa nodded her head in agreement. "That's a safe number," she remarked. "We have to also consider some time to do talking while we're on stage."

"Marketing," Yui pointed out eagerly.

"That's right," Ritsu agreed. "Anyway, we have our work cut out for us. Aside from practicing like there's no tomorrow, we have to get our merchandise in gear!" She nudged Mio who was writing down the possible songs they could perform for their next gig. "Let's also make a list of things we could sell during the festival."

"CDs of course," Mio promptly dictated, writing it down.

"How about posters?" Yui suggested.

"Shirts too," Mugi added excitedly. "My father knows a supplier that makes custom apparel for a relatively low price."

Ritsu nodded her head with approval. "That sounds good! As for the posters, I think I know just the people to help us out with that!"

"Your friends from Graphic Design?" Mio asked.

The drummer grinned. "It's good to have connections!"

"What else can we sell though?" Azusa wondered.

Yui eagerly bounced in her seat. She was teeming with ideas. "How about baller ID's? We could have them made in bulk in different colors and it's just going to have our band name on it."

"That's a great idea too, but do you know anyone who can make it for us without it being too expensive?" Ritsu propped her chin against her hand and squinted at the list Mio made so far.

Yui shrugged. "We could ask Sawa-chan. She might know someone," she replied. "If not, I'll go ask around and do some research."

Mio suddenly sighed which got the attention of her band mates. "We may have enough to funds to produce the merchandise, but it's going to take more to record a CD." Her gray eyes took up a sad glint. "It's expensive to go to a recording studio and it'll take a few days to record everything."

"Maybe Mugi's dad knows a recording studio we could borrow," Ritsu said hopefully.

The keyboardist shook her head. "He knows several but they're not in this area. It would be too time consuming for us to travel far just to record a CD." They all sighed simultaneously as they thought about their latest problem.

Suddenly, Azusa banged her hand on the table. "Terry-san!" she shouted.

"Huh?" The four older girls all looked confused at their kohai's outburst.

Azusa shook her head at how slow her senpais were being. "We could ask Terry-san for help!"

Ritsu was the first to understand what Azusa was trying to tell them. "Terry-san has a studio in her condo!" she said excitedly. "She _is _taking up a degree in Music Engineering and Sound Production so she's more than capable enough to help us record a CD!"

"And since she was formerly in a band, she's more than knowledgeable enough when it comes to recording music!" Mio added. She shared a grin with her friends. "So who's going to ask her?"

Ritsu, Azusa, Yui and Mugi all looked at each other then slowly grinned back at Mio. "You are her biggest fan," Ritsu remarked slyly.

"W-Why can't you do it? You're the self-proclaimed leader of our band!" The bassist wrung her hands together nervously.

"Come on Mio-chan!" Yui slipped her hand into Mio's pocket and held it out in front of her. "We know you really want to do it!" She impishly smiled at her friend.

The bassist's face flushed with color. "Yui! You're making it sound so… wrong!"

"What's wrong with being an admirer?" Azusa quipped, hiding her grin with her hand.

"A lot especially when her friends become very pushy and take advantage of her!" Mio retorted.

"Oh come on, Mio!" Ritsu grabbed her friend's phone from Yui's hands and shoved it towards her best friend. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can practice!"

"You promise?" Mio asked. It had been particularly difficult to get her band mates to practice recently. Mostly it was because of Ritsu and Yui.

"We promise!" Yui replied. She gestured with her hands for Mio to make the call while the rest of their group leaned forward and waited.

The shy bassist took a deep breath and dialed Terry's cellphone number, swallowing hard as the call started to connect. She gave one last glare at her friends just as a voice came on.

"_Hello?" _A sleepy voice greeted.

To Mio, the voice sounded familiar but it definitely didn't belong to Terry. "Wha- Who…" Mio stammered.

"_Hmmm… what very bad timing you got Mio-chan. I was having a lot of fun before you called,"_ the sultry voice said.

"S-S-Sawa-chan!" Mio yelped, blushing furiously.

"Eh?" Yui exclaimed, hopping over to Mio's side so that she could try to hear out the conversation. "Did you dial the wrong number, Mio-chan?"

Mio furiously shook her head. "I-I dialed Terry-san's number, but it's Sawa-chan who answered," she replied.

"Here! Hand it over!" Ritsu grabbed the phone and quickly pressed a button. "I put it on speaker phone so that we could all be part of this conversation!"

"Ritsu! I don't think that's a good idea!" Mio tried to grab her phone back, but her best friend simply blocked her questing hands away.

"Yo Sawa-chan! How come you're the one who answered Terry-san's phone?" Ritsu cheerfully greeted their former teacher. "Are the both of you out on a date and she's currently unavailable at the moment?"

The girls listened to their mentor chuckle on the other line. _"No, we're not out on a date. We're at her condo… her bedroom to be more specific."_

"What?" All five girls stared in shock at the cellphone then at each other. It was rather easy to pick up on what Sawako was implying.

"_You girls really caught me at a bad time," _Sawako repeated herself. _"Terry and I were just about to go another round when-"_

"_Sawako…" _Another voice growled warningly. _"It is not polite to take the calls meant for the owner of the phone." _

"Ah Terry-san!" Yui cried out.

"_The girls?" _Terry's voice asked, getting louder as if she was moving closer to Sawako. _"Give me that!" _There was a slight pause as the phone was handed over to Terry. _"There, now what can I do for all of you? Wait a minute… is that Mio whimpering in the background?"_ She released a sigh. _"Sawako! What have you been telling them?" _she demanded from her lover.

"_I was just telling them that they called at the wrong time since we were in the middle of making love-"_

"_Enough!" _Terry shouted, unknowing that the loudness of her voice made all the Houkago girls jump back. _"Don't go making up stuff especially if it involves matters such as sex! Seriously Sawako! If this is just one of your ploys of trying to get me in bed with you, it's not working." _

"_Oh alright…"_

Ritsu elbowed Mio. "Figured that Sawako was just making up stuff to make you embarrassed," she murmured. "Hi Terry-san!" she greeted.

"_Hey Ritsu,"_ Terry greeted back wearily. _"I'm sorry about that. I was in the bathroom and I left my phone on my dresser."_

Ritsu grinned. "It's alright Terry-san! No harm done! Well, there's minimal damage on the part of Mio. She's still in some shock."

Terry sighed. _"I'll make it up to her next time. Anyhow, what can I do for you?"_

Mugi took over and started explaining. "We're playing at Sora International's fair next weekend and we're planning to sell merchandise. We're pretty much set with everything except for the CDs."

"We were wondering if maybe you could help us out," Azusa added, leaning close to the table so that she could speak close to the cellphone's receiver. "It's expensive to professionally record a CD."

Yui nodded. "We're sort of short of cash and time at the moment," she added sheepishly. "Since you have a studio at your place, we were hoping you could help us record our CD?" She and the rest of her friends all crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.

"_Sure,"_ Terry replied steadily. _"I'm only free in the late afternoon and evenings though. I'm quite busy with school, but I'm ready to help you girls out." _She paused and took a few seconds to scold Sawako. _"Anyway, I'll have to move some stuff around in my studio so that we could fit Ritsu's drum set, but everything should be fine. When do you girls want to come over?"_

"Tomorrow?" Ritsu asked.

"_Alright. I'll probably be home at around five in the afternoon."_

"_I'll be there too!"_ Sawako interrupted.

"_Just bring all your gear. As for making copies of the CD once it's finished, we should go to a copier to make things faster. It'll be difficult for us if we rely on our own laptops to make copies."_

"Great! We'll see you tomorrow then Terry-san!" Ritsu gestured at her band mates. "Let's all say thank you!"

"Thank you, Terry-san!" the girls chorused before ending their phone conversation.

"Okay! How about some practice then?" Mugi got to her feet and made her way towards their practice area.

"I'm pumped up!" Ritsu exclaimed.

"Same here!" Yui skipped over to her guitar.

"Errrr… guys?" Azusa called to her friends. "I think Mio-senpai is stuck in…" she paused, unsure of how she should describe the state of the bassist.

"Hmmm… suspended animation?" Mugi supplied with a grin.

Ritsu sighed impatiently and walked over to her best friend. Rubbing her hands together, she then let both her palms loudly slap both the cheeks of the raven-haired girl. "Mio! Snap out of it! We need to prac-" she yelped suddenly in pain as her friend landed a heavy fist on her head.

While Ritsu cradled her injured head, Mio calmly got her bass guitar and positioned herself. Smiling like nothing happened, she looked at her amused band mates and said, "Shall we practice then?"

* * *

_The following afternoon..._

* * *

"Come in! Come in!" Terry cheerfully ushered her guests into her condo. "Sawako! Get up already! You've been lazing about ever since you got here!" She strode over to her couch and pushed her girlfriend's prone body off, not looking the least bit apologetic when Sawako sprawled ungracefully on the floor. "Make yourself useful and help Ritsu bring her drum set into the studio!"

"Slave driver…" Sawako muttered, but did as she was told.

"Ohhhh! Who knew that there was someone who could order Sawa-chan around?" Ritsu kept on grinning as she lugged parts of her drum set into Terry's abode. While she and the other trooped towards the studio, Terry stopped Mio and handed her a small wrapped parcel.

"What's this, Terry-san?" Mio asked.

"It's an apology for what happened the other day," Terry replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "I figured this would make things better." She urged the young bassist to unwrap the parcel.

When Mio finally held the contents of the parcel in her hands, she could only stare at Terry in shock. "B-But this is-" she stammered, hands shaking.

Terry smiled. "I know. I didn't realize that I packed it along with my other clothes when I flew here to Japan." She laid a hand on the piece of clothing Mio still held rather shakily. "I wore that vest in practically all our major concerts." It had been one of her favorites since it was both comfortable and stylish. The vest that Mio now owned was of a deep sable black color and shiny silver buttons. Also emblazoned in silver were the initials of Terry's name at the back of the vest. Back when their band was still famous, reproductions of her vest were being sold all over. Despite its simplicity, many of their fans clamored to own such a vest.

"This is too much! It's too special for you to give to me!"

Terry shook her head. "It's fine. It doesn't have as much sentimental value as you think."

"Say thank you, Mio!" Ritsu called from inside the studio. "And be quick about it so that we could start recording!"

Mio scuffed her foot against the floor. "T-Thank you… Terry-san."

"You're welcome! Let's get to the studio and start recording then! Maybe we could get a song done before we have dinner. I asked Sawako to go grocery shopping and make dinner for us."

"Sawa-chan is cooking? Woohoo! We'll finally be able to try out her cooking!" Yui exclaimed as she checked the tuning of her guitar strings.

Terry was the last to enter and she shut the door behind her. "I know it's a tight fit especially since I had to borrow the sound barrier to surround Ritsu and her drums. I borrowed a few other things too to help out with the recording." She gestured at their rather cramped room. "As you can see, this is basically just one room. We'd be getting a lot of sound interference even with separate microphones if you play all at the same time. It's better if we record instrument individually. It'll take a few days or so, but if all goes well, we should finish a day or two before the fair."

The girls all nodded their heads in agreement, knowing that the American woman before them was more experienced in such matters. "It sounds like a good plan, Terry-san," Mugi remarked with a grateful smile.

"We could do the editing and mixing together," Terry told the girls then began to prep the equipment. "Let's have the rhythm guitarist record first."

"That's you Azusa-chan!" Ritsu gently pushed their kohai forward.

"Okay, you girls sit over there on that side and keep quiet!" Terry put everything in order then sat in front of her laptop. "Ready when you are!"

"Hai!" Azusa raised her hand and was just about to strum the strings of her guitar when she suddenly stopped. "Ummm… what song are we recording first?"

"Azusa-chan!"

"What? We all got to excited that we didn't even talk about what song we're going to work on first!" the rhythm guitarist defended herself.

Terry choked and started laughing hard. "S-Sorry! I guess we got all carried away!" She rubbed her teary eyes and smiled. "Anyway, what song should we start on first?"

"Go with 'Fuwa Fuwa Time'," Ritsu replied. "We'll make the formal list outside while Azusa does her part." She and the others trooped outside to discuss the order of their songs.

Sawako sighed as she got up to her feet. "I should go and prepare dinner then."

"Shall we start then Azusa-chan?"

* * *

_Thursday – 3:42 am_

* * *

"Finally…" Ritsu groaned as she and her band mates lay on the cool floor of Terry's living room. After five days of recording their songs in Terry's studio, they were finally done. They had managed to record at the most two songs per day, but on this particular night, they were able to record four songs. All in all, their CD would have twelve tracks.

"It's nearly four in the morning," Azusa murmured tiredly.

"How are we going to get back to our apartment?" Mio wondered. She sighed and pointed at the snoring Yui. There all lacked sleep since they've been spending late nights at Terry's condo to finish recording their songs. Once all of them were done with their classes, they all headed over to Terry's flat and stayed until the early hours of morning. It didn't help that they headed straight to their classes a few hours later. "We have to figure out how to get our instruments and Yui-chan back there too."

"It'll be rather difficult," Mugi remarked just as tiredly as her friends.

Sawako walked out of the studio at that moment and looked over her former students. When they all looked up at her with the exception of Yui, she said, "Terry's doing the final editing and mixing. She says she should finish sometime in the early afternoon. That'll give you enough time to go to a copier and make copies of your CD."

"That's good," Ritsu said, rubbing her eyes.

The bespectacled woman looked worriedly at her students. "I was going to offer to take you girls home, but Terry and I think that all of you should sleep here. What time do your classes start?"

"We actually have an optional field trip to attend for extra credit, but we decided to just skip it since all our grades are alright," Mio informed their mentor.

"So none of you have classes at all to attend?"

Mugi nodded. "It's an inter-departmental thing," she explained.

"That's good then. You girls need to rest after all the late nights we've been keeping." The teacher helped the still awake girls to their feet and led them to the spare bedroom. She lastly carried Yui into the room then left the girls to sleep. She went back into the studio to check on her hard at work girlfriend. "You should rest too you know," she gently told Terry who was holding one of the headphones against one of her ears and typing away at the keyboard of her laptop.

"I'll just finish this one song then get a few hours of sleep. There are still three more songs to mix and edit." Terry held back a yawn. "You go ahead and sleep, Sawako."

"But it'll be lonely," Sawako teasingly replied, playfully batting her eyelashes. "And I won't sleep well without you by my side."

Terry rolled her eyes. "It's rather late for you to be this dramatic," she drily remarked. Still, she twisted her head so that she could lightly peck Sawako on the cheek. "I'll be done in maybe half an hour." She playfully slapped Sawako's behind. "Go and warm the bed for me." She winked then went back to work.

As the lights outside of her studio turned off, Terry focused all her attention on her work. All was quiet except for the repetitive tracks she played over and over again as she strived to perfect each song. She needed a strong cup of coffee, but she didn't have the time to get up and make one for herself. She wanted to finish this one song before actually letting herself rest. Giving her weary fingers a short break, she leaned back and stretched her arms over her head. She also twisted her head and stretched out the kinks in her neck as she mustered enough strength to finish. It took almost an hour before she finally finished that one song. "I need to sleep," she wearily told no one, getting up to her feet and turning off the lights in the studio. Quietly, she made her way to her bedroom and saw that Sawako was lying peacefully on her bed. Shaking her head at how easily her girlfriend was able to fall asleep, Terry then went in her bathroom to wash her face, brush her teeth and change into more comfortable clothes for sleeping. Stepping out of the bathroom, her emerald-green eyes settled on the sleeping figure of the woman on her bed. Silently, she stood at the side of her bed and gazed lovingly at her lover. Sawako's long and luscious burgundy hair gently fanned out around her head and on the pillow she used. It was a rather endearing sight especially since the older woman slept noiselessly with her mouth slightly agape.

Carefully slipping under the blankets as to not disturb the other occupant, Terry made herself comfortable then let her tired eyes close. She was drifting off when something pressed against her side. Cracking one of her eyes open, she squinted through the dark and saw that it was Sawako who was the culprit. The former musician sighed and carefully pulled her arm out between their pressed bodies. "Silly woman," she murmured, wrapped her free arm around Sawako and pulled her closer. "Even in your sleep, you're still quite the touchy person." She closed her eyes once more and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

_Saturday – 3:52 pm, Sora International_

* * *

"Don't be nervous girls!" Sawako was in the process of doing last minute adjustments to her former students' outfits for that performance. It was hard for her to not notice that the girls were fairly nervous and worried about their upcoming performance. Truly, this was going to be their biggest one yet since they were fortunate to be performing at a large public event. They knew that they would be playing to maybe close to a thousand fair-goers. The most they had watching them at any of their previous performance was around two hundred or so.

Mio frowned as she rubbed her bared arms. "It's hard to follow that advice, Sawa-chan," she replied ruefully.

"You look good though," Sawako complimented the bassist who was wearing tight jeans and the vest Terry had given her. Mio's hair was also pulled back in a simple ponytail, but her look was accessorized by small hoop earrings and leather chocker around her neck. "I'd say you chose this outfit to pay tribute to certain flame-haired bassist," she remarked with a large grin.

Mio blushed fiercely at how easy her former teacher was able to guess her intentions right. "Well…" she looked down at her feet and nervously shifted her weight from foot to the other. "Terry-san has been helping us out so much. I don't know how we're going to repay her and I know what I'm wearing now is just a small way to pay tribute to her." She tucked a stray lock of her raven-black hair behind her ear.

Unable to help herself, Sawako lunged forward and enveloped Mio in a tight hug. "You're so cute Mio!" she exclaimed giddily before setting her back on her feet. "I'm sure you small tribute will be greatly appreciated though.

"Where is Terry-san anyway?"

Jerking her head at the side of the large stage set up for the various performances for that day, Sawako pointed at the long table brimming with Houkago Tea Time merchandise. "Terry's watching over the sales of your CDs and merchandise. Well, she hardly has to do anything since you managed to get Nodoka, Ui and Jun to handle the distribution and sales." She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "She's mostly here anyway for moral support."

Yui bounced over and threw herself onto Mio's back. "Aren't we lucky to have such supporting friends?" she asked, grinning as Mugi, Azusa and Ritsu joined their group. "It makes me feel like we can reach the top just through their support!"

"Don't get too enthusiastic, Yui-senpai," Azusa scolded her friend and courter. Still, she couldn't help but smile at how much support and help they were getting from their friends.

Ritsu twirled her drumsticks around her hands then pumped both of them into the air. "Alright! We're going to rock this stage and make our friends proud!" she yelled, grinning as her friends followed suit by raising their own fists into the air.

"Let's do our best!" Mugi excitedly said then followed one gesturing staff member towards the stairs that would lead them onto the stage.

Sawako dreamily watched as her former students confidently took to the stage amidst the roaring applause of the crowd. Her swelling pride deflated a bit as thoughts of her former band never being able to progress to this kind of stage. Shaking the thought away, she held back a chortled laugh as she heard the screams and shouts of the mostly female populated fan club of Mio piercing through the air.

"Hello! We're Houkago Tea Time and we're happy to be here to perform for the Sora International Fair!" Yui cheerfully greeted the large audience. "Before we begin, we'd like to introduce ourselves! I'm Yui!"

"Azusa," the rhythm guitarist dictated, not far behind from her senpai.

Ritsu banged a simple riff on her drums and smiled. "Ritsu here!"

Mugi followed suit by running her fingers along the length of her keyboard. "I'm Mugi!"

"M-Mio…" the bassist shyly said, though her introduction got the most applause and screams.

While Mio tried to get a grip on her embarrassment, Yui happily waved to Ui, Nodoka and Jun who were standing close to the stage. "We'd also like to thank two special people today!" She scanned the audience and easily caught sight of Terry's characteristic fiery auburn hair. "Terry-san! Thank you so much for helping us record our first CD!"

Ritsu grabbed the closest microphone and added, "Thank you too to Sawa-chan who took care of us during all those late nights we had to record our CD!"

"Here's our first song!" Yui checked her band mates then faced the mass of people before her. "Fuwa Fuwa time!"

* * *

Terry ambled over to the merchandise table set up by the Houkago girls' friends. Yui and her friends just ended their one-hour set and were on their way off the stage. Recognizing Yui's younger sister who was taking payment for a HTT shirt, she walked over to her. "How's everything going?"

Ui looked up and gasped. "Terry-san!" She quickly stored the money into a cash box then focused her attention on the tall American woman. "Everything is great!" she exclaimed happily. "We're sold out of CDs! I didn't realize that we'd be able to sell the two hundred copies one-san made!"

Jun suddenly swooped in and grabbed a handful of shirts and posters. "We're running out of things to sell too," she breathed out as she hurried to service their customers.

"It's good that we're selling everything so fast," Nodoka remarked. "It just shows that Yui and the others are quite popular." She smiled slyly. "I suppose it's partly because I broadcasted to the Mio fan club that they would be performing here today."

Jun and Ui gave each other looks. "So that's why the Mio related merchandise sold out so fast," Jun muttered.

Chuckling quietly to herself, Terry took out her wallet and handed over a few bills. "I'd like to buy a shirt though. I wish I could have gotten a CD, but then again, I have all their recorded songs on my laptop."

"Sure!" Ui chirped and handed Terry a folded HTT shirt.

"Uiiiii!" Yui loped over and threw herself into her younger sister's arms.

"One-chan!" Ui embraced her older sister happily. "You all did a great job!"

"Nice one Mio-senpai!" Jun congratulated the bassist with a wide grin on her face.

Nodoka also took the time to congratulate her schoolmates. "I could have sworn that your fan club was going to overpower the audience, but it looks like Mugi also has a fan club as well!"

The keyboardist looked slightly embarrassed. "I didn't realize that I had a fan club," she told her friends with a laugh.

"We should celebrate!" Ritsu announced. "Let's go to a bar or something!"

Sawako was about to agree when she saw Terry cover a yawn. Looking closer, she noticed how weary her younger girlfriend looked. Unlike the girls who had a decent amount of sleep prior to their performance, Terry had to catch up with school work after she finished recording their CD. "You girls go ahead," she told them as she walked over to Terry and linked their arms together. "We're going to head on home."

"Whose home?" Ritsu slyly asked.

"Terry's home," Sawako calmly replied.

The drummer grinned evilly. "Ooohhhh! Sexy time!"

"Ritsu…" Sawako suddenly lunged forward and trapped her former student in one of her trademark submission moves.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry-" Ritsu choked out as she struggled to breathe with the arm wrapped tightly around her neck.

"Give her a break, Sawako," Terry ordered her lover. "I can't really blame them for thinking that way especially with you giving them all the wrong ideas." She was about to start saying goodbye when the announcement of the next performer came on.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We'd like to present our special performer for this evening! Please welcome Miss Utada Hikaru!"

Terry and the rest of her companions turned towards the stage and indeed saw that it was the famous and very talented Utada Hikaru on stage. "Your school fair's organizers really hit it big, huh?"

"Have you heard of her Terry-san?"

The former bassist nodded her head. "She's quite famous and she's been trying to make it big in the American market, so I'm quite knowledgeable about her work."

"Let's watch!" Yui eagerly suggested and began dragging those around her to the front of the stage.

Sawako furrowed her eyebrows. "You need to rest Terry. We should head-" she stopped suddenly as the slow and soothing piano introduction came through the speakers. "On second thought," she continued. "I think I'd like to dance." She smiled expectantly at her tall girlfriend and dragged her over to the gathering couples near the stage. "I happen to like this song a lot," she whispered to Terry, making the taller redhead wrap her arms around her.

Terry shook her head. "It's not exactly the right song couples should dance to," she wryly commented. "Her song 'First Love' is all about remembering and regretting one's first love."

"Forget the meaning, Terry," Sawako huffed, pressing her face against Terry's chest. "Just dance with me…" She pulled away slightly and shyly looked into those emerald green eyes. "… and make me forget about all those first loves I've ever had."

Terry could feel her cheeks heat up a bit from what Sawako just said. She couldn't help it. Sawako was just so adorable when she said that. She reached up with her hand and gently caressed Sawako's cheek. "It's hard to forget about past relationships," she softly told her as they rocked to the famous ballad. "But then… I don't know…" she paused and struggled to come up with the right words to say. "… when I'm with you, I just seem to forget about everything else."

"Terry…" Sawako murmured, feeling like this was the right moment to get herself a kiss.

"That's how distracting you are."

Sawako suddenly stiffened and took the opportunity to punch her girlfriend hard on the arm. How could Terry ruin such a perfect moment?

"Owwww!" Terry yelped, ignoring the looks they were getting from other dancing couples. "What was that for? I was giving you a compliment!"

"That last part didn't sound like one," Sawako muttered, allowing Terry to gather her once more in her arms.

The auburn-haired woman chuckled and pressed Sawako closer to her body. "You're a very welcome distraction in my life, Sawako."

"It still sounds like an insult," the teacher complained, choosing to enjoy the moment as they slow danced among the sea of couples.

Azusa sighed as she watched the romance blossoming between Terry and Sawako. It was endearing that their former club adviser had finally found someone whom she was truly head over heels in love with, but she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of them. She wanted that kind of romance. She released another wistful sigh, which her friends heard.

Yui cleared her throat suddenly and stepped closer to her kohai. Bowing as regally as she could, she offered her hand to Azusa and smiled brightly at her. "Would you honor me with a dance?" she asked, her brown eyes twinkling with much love.

The rhythm guitarist looked hesitantly at her senpai then glanced at her other band mates. She was unsure of what to do. She shot a quick 'help me' look to Mugi who chose to smile back at her.

"It's just one dance, Azusa-chan," Mugi assured the youngest member of their group. "I'm willing to bet that Yui-chan is an excellent dancer."

"That would depend on the kind of dance," Ritsu muttered wickedly, holding back a cry of pain when Mio suddenly elbowed her ribs.

Yui stayed in her bent position and continued to hopefully look up into Azusa's hesitant face. "Just this once?" she asked.

Azusa sighed. "Alright Yui-senpai… but you better keep your hands in the right places!" She slowly slipped her hand into Yui's, smiling in spite of herself when her senpai's smile brightened even more. They waded into the mass of dancing couples and began to dance themselves.

"Ah! Young love!" Mugi wistfully said, leaning back against the table's edge, watching with interest.

Mio sighed inwardly as she made her way to the perimeter of the large swaying crowd of couples. She stood there for a while just gazing at how romantic the whole scene was.

"Mi-ooooh!"

"Huh?" The bassist jumped at the voice at her side. She made a face when she saw that it was only Ritsu. "Oh Ritsu… what is it?"

"You looked lonely," Ritsu replied, standing next to her taller best friend and gazing out at the crowd.

"I'm not!" Mio retorted.

The drummer smirked. "You've been looking at the couples for a long time now. It's easy to guess that you were thinking about how it gets lonesome sometimes."

"I'm sure you feel the same way!" Mio accused her friend. "You keep complaining about how the boys never give you a second look."

Ritsu shrugged, looking indifferent. "I suppose it bothered me at first, but then again, why should I care? Besides, there's-" she stopped suddenly and turned away.

"There's what?" Mio prodded.

"… it's nothing. Forget it," Ritsu muttered, stuffing her hands into her jacket. She and Mio stayed together in silence as they watched the couples dance to the last chorus of the song.

"Ritsu…"

"Hmmm?"

"… I wish… I could find someone to love like how Sawa-chan and Terry-san found each other," Mio murmured.

Ritsu remained silent, unsure of what she should say to her best friend. Unable to come up with any words to comfort her best friend, she slowly, but hesitantly reached out with her hand. As her fingers lightly grazed the back of Mio's hand, she suddenly felt disheartened when Mio slightly pulled away. Swallowing hard, she let her hand quest back. This time, she boldly but still gently let her fingers twine with Mio's. From the corners of her eyes, she saw her friend's face slightly redden from the contact, but she didn't attempt to shake off Ritsu's hold on her hand. Together… hands clasped warmly against each other, both of them continued to gaze at the slowly swaying crowd as the sun fully set behind the horizon.

* * *

_**I've been really busy with work and since I've been travelling around for business, I've hardly had any time to write. **_

_**Then again, I checked my email and saw a slew of reviews from jquackers and I was suddenly inspired to write a chapter in just a couple of days. Thanks for the inspiration!**_

_**Hopefully, I'll be able to create some momentum and keep writing.**_

_**Shadowed one**_


	11. Homecoming

_Chapter 11: "Homecoming"_

"I don't want to talk about it, Miles."

"_But Terry, they – both of them – called me! Do you know what kind of pressure they're putting on me? Your dad – "_

Terry shook her head angrily. "I don't care, Miles! I'll go home on my own accord!" She tensely paced the length of her living room. "I'm not a _thing _that they can fight among themselves! And I especially don't want to involve myself with that monster my dad calls his wife!" She was absolutely seething with anger. A little over a week ago, both her parents had called her up and asked her to come home over her spring break. Her spring break would last for two weeks starting from the last week of March until the first week of April. Her conversation with her mother on the phone was well enough although it got annoying every time she had to explain why she wasn't going to come home for the break. Her father on the other hand did not ask for her to come home… he demanded it. He insisted that he has allowed her to keep her distance for far too long and that she was due to visit.

"_Things will get worse if you stay away any longer."_

"I don't really care," Terry muttered, not noticing the quiet knock at her door.

"_But you do care," _Miles gently told her. _"They're still your family no matter what. You may not be a family anymore, but they still love and care for you."_

"Even so, both of them are expecting me to do things that I will never do," Terry replied evenly. "I am not going to give up our business just so that mom can have more time with me." Her emerald green eyes darkened with anger as she thought about what her father wanted her to do. "I have no idea how dad found out that we're going to incorporate Quinn-Young Development, but I'm certainly not going to allow that wife of his to become a shareholder!"

Miles sighed. _"I have to admit that it gave me quite a shock when your father told me to make him and his wife shareholders once we incorporate our company."_

"There's no problem at all if dad wants to become a shareholder, but I have no intention of letting that bitch have even the most minimal percentage of control over our company," Terry scoffed. "I've sweated and bled for this company, damn it!" She turned on her heel and suddenly collided into something. "What the-" She was about to curse when she saw Sawako on the floor and rubbing her sore back. "Sawako? How did you-" she shook her head and remembered that she had given Sawako an extra key to get into her condominium. "Miles I'll call you back, but we're not going to discuss this topic again." She hung up then helped her girlfriend to her feet. "Sorry," she said, flinching back a little when the bespectacled woman before her pressed a gentle hand against the side of her face.

"Are you alright?" Sawako softly asked, worry threading her face and voice.

"Never better," Terry replied.

The teacher shook her head. "I know it's rude, but I couldn't help but overhear. It's about your parents, isn't it?"

"Sawako… please," Terry begged tiredly. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"You could at least explain to me why going home is bothering you so much," Sawako calmly replied.

Terry opened her mouth to refuse, but the concerned look on her girlfriend's face changed her mind. Turning around, she sat heavily on her couch and pressed her palm against her forehead. "Both of them… they're celebrating their birthdays over the spring break. They want me to come home and celebrate it with them."

"Is it that bad to do it?" Sawako asked, coming over and sitting next to the redhead. She grasped Terry's hand reassuringly, urging her to keep talking.

"The birthdays I can deal with, but mom and dad have… other motives for wanting me to come home," Terry replied with annoyance. "I think I mentioned it to you before that my mom wants me to hand over the business to Miles and start a music school with her second husband. As much as it sounds like a good idea, I don't want to give up what I've worked so hard for." She frowned deeply as she paused for a breath. "Surely you were inside already when I was talking about my dad," she told Sawako with a grim smile. "Apparently, my dad wants Miles and me to make him and his second wife shareholders of our company when we change it into a corporation."

Sawako frowned. "Not a good idea," she murmured.

"That's for sure," Terry replied, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "That woman has criticized every aspect of my being including my work as a former musician and currently a software programmer turned business owner!"

"You obviously believe that she has no right at all to interfere and even join your business," Sawako guessed. "It's all the more annoying because as a shareholder, she'll be entitled to receive dividends." She shrugged her slender shoulders and furrowed her eyebrows with disdain. "She's not exactly the ideal person who is worthy to become a shareholder of your company."

"You understood it perfectly," Terry praised her girlfriend, smiling ever so slightly before it disappeared and turned into a frown once more. "In any case, I refuse to go home unless I really need to."

Sawako suddenly grinned and leaned her head against Terry's shoulder. "Besides…" she fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously. "I'd be lonely if you left."

Terry sighed. "Sawako… even if I did leave, it'd only be for a week or so," she chided her girlfriend. "You'll survive."

Frowning at how dense her foreign girlfriend could get, Sawako punched Terry hard on her arm.

"Owww! What was that for?" Terry cried out in pain.

"Could you at least flirt back even a little bit?" Sawako demanded. "I'm trying to get some affection here!"

Terry smirked. "You're always trying to get affection from me," she drawled. Still, she obliged Sawako's request and gathered her up in her arms. "You shouldn't worry in any case," she assured the brunette. "It's most likely that I'll be staying here for spring break. There's hardly any reason for me to go home."

Cuddling as close as she could, Sawako pressed her face against Terry's chest and breathed her scent in deeply. "I'm glad… but Terry-" she paused and tilted her head up to get a better look of Terry's face. "I'd follow you _anywhere_."

Terry blinked. "Anywhere?" she repeated, watching Sawako as she nodded her head in reply. "Sawako…" she swallowed a sudden lump that formed in her throat. "I… well eventually… you know…" she sighed, suddenly feeling a deep sadness at what she was getting at. "When I finish my second degree at Sora College of Music, I'll have to go back to-" Sawako's finger suddenly pressed against her lips, effectively silencing her.

Hazel eyes filled with love gazed up into confused emerald green ones. "Anywhere… Terry," she repeated softly. "I'll follow you anywhere. We'll deal with it when that time comes." She twined her arms around Terry's neck and pulled her close. "Besides… I don't know what will happen to my heart if you go back to America for good."

Terry shrugged and pressed their foreheads together. "Obviously, your heart will come with me."

"And my body?"

The redhead shrugged again. "I'll figure something out," she replied. "At worst, I could always stuff you in my luggage and hope that airport security won't notice that I'm smuggling in a live human." She stiffened and braced herself just in time as Sawako landed another heavy punch on her arm. "I know…" she said before Sawako could put a word in. "I always seem to ruin a perfectly romantic moment between us."

Sawako furrowed her eyebrows and pouted at Terry. "You have a talent for it unfortunately."

"It would be awfully petty if you would break up with me because of _this _talent of mine," Terry soberly said, tightening her hold on Sawako. "Anyway, why'd you drop by all of sudden? Do you need me for something?"

"Nothing in particular," Sawako replied, her hazel eyes twinkling mischievously. "But now that you mentioned it, I do need _some _help," she continued.

Terry frowned slightly, knowing what that look Sawako was giving her. "It depends on the kind of help you're thinking of," she gravely told her girlfriend. "And I'm rather sure that the help you require involves affection." She watched with slight interest as Sawako carefully got to her knees on the couch and straddled her. Each knee was positioned on either side of Terry's lap and those pale and smooth arms twined around her neck, cutting off the possibility of escape.

"Face it, Terry," Sawako softly told her girlfriend. "It's been nearly five months since we started dating and we've hardly even gotten to second base!" Her hazel eyes smoldered as she gazed deeply into Terry's piercing emerald green eyes. "I… can't help it! I just want to…" she paused and blushed furiously.

"Touch me?" Terry asked calmly, though her heart was beating a mile a minute.

Sawako looked away. "… touch you… and touch me…" she mumbled out the admission. She suddenly buried her face into Terry's shoulder. "I'm sorry! I must sound like some horny bitch who's in heat!" Despite her embarrassment, she felt somewhat relieved coming out clean to her girlfriend though she couldn't admit that she'd been frequently having _those_ kinds of dreams.

"Sorry…" Terry apologized, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist and pulling her closer. "It's just that…" she frowned hard, smiling just a little bit when Sawako tried to smooth away the wrinkles that formed on her forehead. "It's been a while since I last had… an intimate relationship."

Sawako tilted her head to the side. "Like how long ago?"

"Five years ago," Terry readily admitted.

"Are you serious?" Sawako demanded, shocked in spite of herself.

Terry nodded. "I told you, the last guy I dated was during my sophomore year of college," she reminded the older woman before her.

Sawako lightly drummed her fingertips against Terry's shoulder. "I'm assuming he was the last one you had sex with?"

"The last and the first," Terry murmured, blushing in reaction to her admission.

Her jaw literally dropped open. "Why are you only telling me this now?"

"You never asked!" Terry retorted. "Besides, it's not something I would want to openly share and talk about with anyone." She looked away and frowned deeply. "It was a forgettable experience on my part."

"You didn't enjoy it?" Sawako asked, running her hand soothingly against Terry's auburn hair.

The redhead scowled. "How could it be enjoyable? It hurt like hell and he wasn't the least bit considerate about the pain I was going through. All he cared about was getting off," she growled, burying her face into Sawako's chest. "I swore off all relationships after that. Even during our touring days as a band there was no shortage of people to have sex with. I just didn't bother with it at all. I was too focused on making music."

Sawako smiled and caressed her girlfriend's cheek with her hand. "So technically… you're almost like a virgin?"

Terry furrowed her eyebrows. "Sawako… you know well enough yourself that once your cherry has been popped, you're no longer a virgin."

"I meant you're still a virgin when it comes to mind-blowing sex," Sawako rephrased, burgundy eyes shining mischievously.

"I suppose," Terry hesitantly replied.

Chuckling softly to herself, Sawako leaned closer until their foreheads were touching. "Shall I be your first then?" she sultrily offered.

Terry gulped. "N-Now?"

Sawako smiled. "Why not?" she whispered hotly into Terry's ear.

"I-I don't think now is the right time," Terry stammered, trembling suddenly when Sawako laved her earlobe with her tongue. "S-Sawako! Stop!" She grabbed both of Sawako's shoulders and pushed her away. "I'm just not ready, okay!" As Sawako slipped off her lap, she covered her face with shaky and clammy hands. "Sorry…" she whispered, feeling a little ashamed of herself.

Sawako shook her head as she took a seat next to her girlfriend. "Was the first that bad for you to make you refuse any sexual act?" she gently asked. She did feel a little bit hurt because Terry pushed her away, but she sort of understood why her slightly younger girlfriend did what she had to do.

Terry nodded. "It was… unmemorable." She looked up into Sawako's eyes. "I know it would be rather selfish of me, but is it alright if we wait a little bit?"

"Need to gather your courage?" Sawako asked teasingly.

"A little bit," Terry drawled back. She suddenly snaked her hand around Sawako's waist and pulled her in. "In the meantime, we could do the simpler things. I'm obviously not afraid of kissing."

Sawako laughed. "I'm not afraid of kissing too," she said, pulling Terry down for the first of many kisses.

* * *

_Three days later…_

* * *

"But you said you weren't leaving!"

"I know I did, but what choice do I have? I did tell you that I'd only go back home for spring break if I really needed to and this is such a time!"

Yui frowned hard as she and her band mates occupied Mio's bedroom. They were having a small get-together with Sawako when Terry unexpectedly arrived and gave her news. Rather than witness the escalating argument in person, the Houkago Tea Time girls relegated themselves to the most comfortable room in their apartment. They didn't see their mentor and Terry arguing but they still couldn't help but overhear what they were saying to each other.

"Can't you let Miles handle it? You've been letting him handle your business while you've been here anyway!"

They heard Terry sigh impatiently. "He's overworked! There's the matter of incorporating our company and this new client wants to meet me before they actually choose to deal with us. I don't want to waste such an opportunity."

"Just do your meeting over the internet then!"

"Sawako… why are you being so stubborn?" Terry asked. "It's only going to be for a couple of weeks. I know I said I'd probably stay for a week or so, but once I get back to California, I won't be able to hide my presence from my parents. I'll have to spend some time with them as much I don't want to."

"Just stay here! Don't go then! You don't have to answer to your parents anymore!"

"But there's still my business-"

"Let Miles handle it!"

"We're going in circles, damn it!" Terry roared. "Why are you being such a brat, Sawako? Can't you at least try to be a little understanding? This over-possessiveness and insecurity is starting to chafe me."

"This is the first time they're fighting," Mugi murmured from Yui's side.

"I've never heard Terry-san raise her voice like that!" Azusa remarked, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Well, Sawa-chan is reacting badly," Mio pointed out. "It's just going to be a short trip and it's mostly going to be for business. Why is she making such a big deal about it?" She skimmed through her class notes and highlighted sentences of importance.

"Fine!" Terry shouted. "If you're going to keep reasoning with me like that, I'm going to leave! This is not worth my time!" The group of college girls all flinched when they heard their front door slam shut.

Yui hopped up to her feet and dusted her bottom. She had been sitting on the floor with Azusa while their three other band mates milled around on Mio's bed. "Let's check on Sawa-chan," she suggested. "Just to make sure she's okay."

"Of course she'd be okay!" Ritsu muttered, following Yui out into their living room. "She'd be a little upset, but she wouldn't be breaking down or-" she abruptly stopped her sentence upon seeing the sorry state of their former teacher. "S-Sawa-chan?" She and the rest of her friends all stared at their teacher who was on the floor and swiping at her tearing eyes.

Mugi immediately made a beeline for the bathroom and came back out with tissue in her hands. She offered one to Sawako, but their teacher was too distraught to deal with her own tears. The keyboardist had to take matters into her own hands by gently dabbing at their mentor's wet cheeks.

"Oh Sawa-chan…" Mio murmured with a shake of her head. "It didn't have to be like this," she said gently, squatting down next to the older woman. "Is it really that big a deal for Terry-san to go back to America for spring break?"

Sawako choked back a sob and allowed Azusa to pull off her glasses so that Mugi would have an easier time wiping away her tears. "But she's leaving in a few hours! It was just so… so sudden!" She finally grabbed a wad of tissue from Mugi's free hand and blew her nose abruptly.

"But why are you angry? She's coming back anyway," Yui pointed out, unable to grasp why their teacher was feeling at the moment.

"She said she wasn't going to leave at all!"

"But she did say that she would only leave if she really needed to," Ritsu cleared up. She shook her head when Sawako shot her a rather weak glare. "Sorry Sawa-chan, but we couldn't help but overhear. We soundproofed the walls so that our neighbors wouldn't hear us, but that doesn't mean we could each other from the different rooms of our apartment." She shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, you were rather loud."

Azusa raised her hand to have a turn at speaking. "Sawa-chan, forgive me for being blunt, but don't you think you were being petty about Terry-san leaving?"

If she hadn't been this shaken up, she would have screamed her head off at her students for not minding their own business. Still, she realized that hearing the truth really did hurt. "Why did I have to be so stupid?" She swiped angrily at her teary eyes. "Of all the times for me to be selfish!"

"You could always call and apologize," Yui suggested.

"But she'll still be angry!"

Mugi shook her head. "Better to say sorry than let the bad air linger." She smiled reassuringly at the brunette. "Call her Sawa-chan." She fished out Sawako's cellphone from her discarded handbag and held it out for her.

With trembling hands, Sawako did as she was told. Her somewhat calmed demeanor worsened when she put her phone away. "N-No network coverage," she told her former students.

"Did you try again?" Mio asked, to which Sawako nodded. "Why wouldn't there be any network coverage?" she wondered aloud.

"Not unless she turned off her cellphone," Ritsu pointed out. "Would she turn it off though because she doesn't want to talk to Sawa-chan?"

Azusa nodded grimly. "A very likely possibility," she remarked. "Or it could be because she's off to the airport and you know how it is with communications devices there."

"She wouldn't be turning off her cellphone until she's on the plane," Yui put in, glancing at the still distraught Sawako. "So I suppose we could assume that it was the first reason we came up with." They all waited anxiously for Sawako to react but it was a good few minutes before they finally got a solid reaction from her.

"Beer! Get me beer now!" Sawako yelled.

"I don't think that's a good-" Ritsu began.

"_NOW!"_ Sawako shouted, this time glaring daggers into her students' beings.

"Y-Yui! Come with me to the convenience store!" Ritsu dragged her friend towards the front door. "Mio, go see if there's any alcohol in our refrigerator!"

"I'm on it!" The bassist hurried to the kitchen.

"Sawa-chan, please blow your nose," Mugi held up another tissue for their mentor to use.

"I don't care about that!" Sawako slapped the tissue away and grabbed her glasses from Azusa's hands. "Get me my beer!"

Mio shook her head as she searched the confines of their refrigerator. "Of all times for her to choose to drown her sorrows," she murmured. She looked out of the small window in the kitchen and saw that it was probably going to rain later on. "Terry-san… it's obvious that she's not going to cope well without you around."

* * *

_28__th__ March, Tuesday Morning – California_

* * *

A bespectacled man peeked over the top of his cubicle then settled back into his chair. He slid himself and his chair out into the hallway and into the nearest cubicle. "Is it just me or is the boss being unusually cranky since she got back?" he asked one of the two occupants.

Miles sighed and wheeled his manager back into his respective cubicle. "If I were you Rick, I wouldn't be asking around about that. You do want to keep your head intact right?"

Rick grinned. "Of course I do!" He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Is she like this because of a lovers' quarrel though?"

Miles' eyes widened in shock. "How did you know about that?" he demanded in a low hiss. "No one knows except for her closest friends!"

"Well…" the manager began, smiling mischievously. "One of our own isn't just a good programmer. He's a pretty skilled hacker as well. A bunch of them were looking through Facebook and they chanced upon the wall of a Japanese girl who is friends with the boss. There was a rather suspicious status so they took matters into their own hands and secretly hacked into her account and voila!" He flung his hands into the air for added effect. "They found hard evidence that Terry has found someone to love."

Miles pressed large calloused hands against his suddenly aching head. "Do you know what kind of trouble you're all getting yourselves in if Terry find out?" He shook his head. "Does anyone else know?"

"We've kept it among us. We all swore that we wouldn't tell anyone outside of the company," Rick replied. "Besides, we don't find anything wrong with her sexual preference. She's also been a good and fair boss to us. Why would we want to mess up her trust in us?"

"You've already given her a reason to mistrust you!" Miles angrily said. "Hacking?" he demanded. "You could lose your jobs for doing something so stupid!"

"No one will find out if it worries you so much!"

"Rick and the programming team assemble in front of my office," Terry's voice boomed from her work quarters. "Now!"

Miles could only shake his head as Rick turned ashy in terror. "She has her ways of keeping all of you in track. It was only a matter of time," he scolded the manager, walking behind him and the terrified programmers towards Terry's office.

In plain view of the rest of the employees, the culprits stood nervously in front of their serious-faced boss. Some of them looked to Miles to help soften the conversation, but all they got were unsympathetic looks from him.

Terry was an imposing figure who stood before them even though she was dressed casually in a fit collared shirt, jeans and sneakers. Her emerald green eyes were fierce as she looked upon the group of workers. "Would you agree that everyone values their privacy?" she asked them, a grim smile pulling on her lips. She raised a threatening eyebrow at them when none of them answered. "Well?" she forcefully asked.

"Yes," Rick quickly answered, shooting mindful looks at his subordinates.

"Then you know why I've called you here and why I'm dishing out punishment," Terry replied. "For the next month, all your internet privileges will be revoked. If you've noticed, I've specifically disconnected the router to all of your work stations. For those who need the use of the internet for work-related purposes, it would have to go through either Miles and or me before we permit you to use a specific computer to work." Somehow, the relieved looks on some of the culprits' faces irked her. "Oh and did I mention, this punishment includes all employees."

"But that's unfair!" A woman from the marketing department blurted out only to have a hand slapped over her mouth by a co-worker.

Terry gave all of them a steely gaze. "I'm a firm believer of the principle 'one for all and all for one'," she told her anxious and frustrated employees. "Particularly when it comes to punishment and making sure that a lesson is learned," she clarified. "Any more objections before I continue?" She waited for a few seconds before going on. "Also, the programming team is obligated to do uncompensated overtime for one week." The redhead ignored the indignant gasps from the group standing before her. "Apparently, you've been using up precious time to hack into personal accounts and there's the fact that we have a heavier workload to deal with for the next month."

"B-But-" one programmer stuttered.

"Do you want me to make it two weeks of unpaid overtime?" Terry was met with absolute silence after making that suggestion. She turned to Rick. "It's been a while since I last doubted my decision of promoting an employee," she told the sweating manager. "You have the skills of managing a company, which we've seen when Miles and I were out of the country, but you obviously… lack in other departments." Terry leaned against the wall and languidly crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll give you a choice, Rick. You can freely leave this company or you will gracefully accept a demotion and undergo more training until you're deemed fit to acquire management position once more. If you choose the second one, you'll be back on the programming team and will be required to do the same punishment."

Rick swallowed hard. "I choose the second," he hoarsely said.

Terry nodded her head. "Very well. We are done here then. Get back to work and I hope you've all learned something from this." She gave them one last icy glare. "This better not happen again." With that, she stalked back into her office and closed the door behind her.

The culprits and the rest of the employees all released a sigh of relief. They've all gotten into some mischief one way or the other and have been doled out punishment, but this was the worse yet. The fact that their mistakes were usually work-related and not so problematic meant they weren't given such immense punishment. It was mostly a scolding when it happened. This time around, they willfully got into the personal life of their boss and have obviously received the worst punishment yet.

Miles cleared his throat to get the attention of the employees. "You better take her seriously. You're lucky that she didn't fire any of you outright," he informed them. "Other bosses would be handing out your pink slips at this moment. If I were all of you, I'd do the punishment without any complaints and get back on her good side." He shook his head at them. "Seriously! What were all of you thinking?" he demanded. "Fighting with her girlfriend prior to coming back here is only part of the reason why she's so cranky!" He frowned when he spotted some of the employees opening their mouth to ask a question. "And no, I am not going to explain what else is making her act this way." He jerked his head at their cubicles. "Now all of you get back to work!" He watched for a few moments to make sure that their employees behaved before stalking into his best friend's domain.

"What now Miles? I'm trying to get some work done and let the rest of those idiots do the rest of the work during their overtime." Terry swiveled her chair around to look at her friend.

Miles tucked his hands into his pockets and gave his friend an interesting look. "I've never seen you this brutal until now," he remarked.

Terry frowned and flapped her hand at him. "I can't always be nice. They'll get complacent and think that they can get away with everything," she muttered, straightening the documents on her desk. "Three days of being here and already I'm worn out." She pressed a hand against her aching head. "Couple that with the jetlag and the non-stop badgering of my parents and it will surely drive me insane."

"Shall I find you a mental institution then?" Miles asked, keeping a straight face.

"Make sure it has a pretty good isolation chamber," Terry retorted. "It'll probably be the only thing that will keep my parents away." She dropped her head onto her desk and let out a long breath. "What the hell am I going to do, Miles?" she asked in a muffled voice. "I've been pretty much ordered to attend a dinner at my father's home."

"You're expecting it to not be pleasant, right?"

The business owner nodded. "It's never pleasant with the wife of my dad," she muttered darkly.

"And your mom?"

Terry groaned. "I have dinner with her the day after," she replied. "They'll be talking my ears off!" She banged her forehead against her desk. "If it weren't for this incorporation business and that new client, I would have just stayed in Japan."

Miles walked over to the desk and lightly placed his hand atop Terry's head. "At least we've dealt with the new client. The only thing we have to worry about now is making our company into a corporation."

"Has Marcus fixed all the needed documents to do that?" Terry asked. Marcus was their accountant and was the first person to get hired by Miles and Terry when they first started their company.

"Everything is ready except for the shareholders," Miles replied. "We've been putting it off since you want to be particular about the people you want to be included."

"Good. I'll finalize that bit by tomorrow morning."

Miles frowned. "I'm not so sure if I like what you're planning."

"You don't have to like it," Terry replied easily. "I am the owner of this company."

"What am I then?" Miles complained.

"My slave," Terry drawled. "Anyhow, I want some peace and quiet for the rest of the day. I have to get ready for tomorrow night." She patted a large brown envelope atop her desk. "Have Marcus submit this to the office of the California state tomorrow. The documents and other requirements should be complete by morning."

Miles opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it. Terry seemed awfully sure of herself and she had a point anyway. She was after all the owner of the business. "I'll make sure that Marcus delivers it." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Want me to come along tomorrow night? I'd be an uninvited guest, but at least your stepmother's snide remarks won't just be aimed at you."

Terry shook her head, but smiled gratefully at her best friend. "It's alright Miles," she told him. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble for my sake." She swiveled her chair around once more to face her computer set on an adjacent desk. "Now shoo! I'd like to be alone for the rest of the afternoon."

Miles gave one more worried look at his friend before walking out of the office. He truly worried about Terry and wished he could do something to ease her anxiety, but there was little he could do especially since most of her anxiety was caused by family-related problems. True, he was close enough to Terry that both her parents had insisted for him to call them aunt and uncle, but it still wasn't in his place to interfere. Sighing as he went to check on the cowed programming team, the raven-haired man heard his cellphone ringing in his pocket. Pulling it out and glancing at the screen, he was a little baffled as to why Kelly was calling him. His friend was busy with his clinic and rarely placed any calls especially during the weekdays.

"Hey Kelly," he greeted, stopping in his tracks. "What's up?" The baffled look on his face slowly transformed into a smile as he listened.

* * *

_The following night…_

* * *

Stiff as a board and with a forced smile plastered on her face, Terry stood outside of her father's home. With an expensive bottle of wine tucked underneath one arm and her dad's favorite chocolate cake on the other, the redhead took in a deep breath to brace herself then rang the doorbell. Fortunately, it was her fifteen year-old half-brother who answered the door. His hazel green eyes lit up instantly upon recognizing her.

"Terry!" He literally lunged at her and gave her a huge hug.

"Whoa there!" Terry laughed as she struggled to stay on her feet and keep her grip on the wine and cake. "It's good to see you too, Jake!" The forced smile she had originally put on her face was now a genuine one as her chocolate brown-haired half-brother continued his onslaught of affection. "Wow, did you grow taller?" She handed Jake the cake box and set her free hand atop his head.

"Five feet and six inches now!" Jake puffed his chest out in pride. "I'll be taller than you in a year or so!"

Terry laughed heartily at the claim. "We'll see about that!" She stepped into the house and closed the door behind her. Looking around her furnished surroundings, she realized that it's been more than two years since she last stepped foot into this house.

"How's Japan? I wish I could go there too! It's such an interesting place!" Jake rambled as he led her into the living room. "I have so many questions to ask you!" He poked his head into the kitchen and called, "Dad! Terry's here!" He waved at Terry to wait there for a moment so that he could put the cake in the refrigerator.

As her half-brother disappeared into the kitchen an older man with the same chocolate brown-hair his son bore walked into the living room. Over six feet tall, he was a somewhat intimidating figure especially with presence of age lines on his face, which gave him a more serious look. He was dressed simply in slacks and a comfortable collared shirt. He looked foreboding for a few seconds before a genuine smile softened his features. With open arms, he beckoned for his daughter to come closer. "It's been too long," he murmured, hugging his daughter.

"Hey dad," Terry greeted as she returned the hug. "Yeah, it's been a while. I've been busy."

Nathan Quinn pulled away and eyed his daughter. "Too busy for you to even call apparently," he dryly said. He looked down and saw the bottle of wine his daughter carried. "For me I hope?"

Terry laughed and held it up for her dad. "My birthday gift to you," she told him with a smile. "It's a 1976 Chateau Ausone red wine. I remembered that you liked it after you tried it out when you went to France."

Nathan took the bottle into his hands and looked it over. "Must have been expensive," he remarked.

"I'm not telling you how much I spent for it," Terry informed her father. In truth, she spent about a thousand dollars on it excluding the delivery and handling charges since she had to especially order it online. She didn't want to buy her father some cheap wine at the grocery store. "I have to say that I had to pull some strings just to get your favorite chocolate cake though. They were fresh out when I went to the bakery."

"You're making it look like that I'd throw a tantrum if I didn't get that cake for my birthday," Nathan woefully said though his eyes danced with mischief.

"Terry!" Two voices shouted from atop the stairs. Two sets of feet clattered down the stairs and raced towards a bewildered Terry.

"Whoa! Calm down you two!" Terry raised her arms in the air as two kids, one a boy and the other a girl barreled into her body. Even though they were the children of her stepmother, she still liked them well enough. Looking down into two pairs of bright blue eyes, she smiled and patted each of their blond heads. "I see the little monkeys have grown," she remarked. "Doing well with school Stefan?" she asked the boy who was now twelve years old.

Stefan nodded his head excitedly. "I'm on the honor roll for this month!"

"That's great!" Terry looked over at his younger sister who was two years younger than he was. "How about you, Maika? I heard that you started with dance class a couple of months ago."

The pretty blond-haired girl grinned up at her half-sister. "I love it! You have to come to my recital! It's next week!"

Terry laughed and hugged her two half-siblings before pulling away. "I think I can arrange that," she promised. She was starting to relax because of the lighter mood when an overly sweet voice cut through the air. She immediately stiffened and became straight-faced as her stepmother made her appearance.

"I see that being the last to come equals a grand entrance for you," she spoke haughtily. Like her two youngest children, she was blond-haired and blue-eyed. Although she stood a few inches shorter than her stepdaughter, she had an overpowering aura of resentment towards the redhead.

"I came straight from work," Terry replied through gritted teeth, her insides were twisting with dislike for the woman standing before her.

The woman shrugged. "You don't have to make excuses. It's easy to see that you were putting off coming here."

Nathan placed a firm hand on his second wife's shoulder. "Megan…" he murmured. "I would like to celebrate my birthday peacefully." He put his other hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Will you behave as well?"

Terry opened her mouth to protest that she always tried to be on her best behavior whenever she did come to visit, but kept it shut. Even though it was her stepmother who usually did the misbehaving, she would never admit to it and put all the blame on Terry. Sighing, the redhead nodded in agreement and let her half-siblings tow her to the dining table. At least they didn't resent her.

"Why does she have to be here?" Megan asked her husband. "You could have just celebrated your birthday with her separately!" She didn't care that Terry could probably hear their conversation from the table.

"She's still my daughter, Megan," Nathan replied softly. "She's still family and the kids did request that she be invited."

"They're not even fully related," Megan muttered, not liking the fact that her children were smitten with their father's daughter from his first marriage. She would have spoken more, but the scathing look she got from her husband silenced her finally as they sat down to dinner.

Maika bounced in her seat as the grown-ups passed food around. "What have you been doing in Japan, Terry?" she asked excitedly. "Do they speak English? It must be hard to understand them."

Forking over some chicken on her plate, she passed it over to Jake before giving her attention to her youngest half-sibling. "My classes are taught in English, but outside of class everyone speaks in Japanese. It _is_ their language and I didn't have much trouble understanding them. I took up the Japanese language as an elective back in college then took some supplemental classes before I went to Japan to refresh myself."

"Terry is what you call bilingual, Maika," Jake informed his younger sister. "She can speak English and Japanese fluently."

Maika gave Terry an admiring look before turning to her parents. "Mom! Dad! Can I take up another language in school?"

"Sure honey," Megan replied, though she looked quite disinterested in the conversation. "Not Japanese though. There are surely other languages that are better to learn." She tapped her fork against her plate. "French is certainly more romantic and useful."

"If you want a useful language, Mandarin is the best pick," Terry replied in a straight voice. "Roughly twenty percent of the world's population is Chinese and if you're going into business, it would hurt to learn it since a lot of businesses are involved with Chinese one way or the other."

Megan glared at her stepdaughter from her side of the table. "Older people would know better especially those who have travelled the world."

"Older people aren't necessarily wiser," Terry simply replied, ignoring the developing anger on Megan's face. "Besides, you've only been to a few countries and the only comments you've made about them are mostly complaints."

Megan banged her hands against the table and got to her feet. "You dare insult me in my house?" she demanded in a shrill voice.

Terry shrugged her shoulders and pushed her half-empty plate away from her. "I was merely stating facts." She shook her head at her anxious siblings then gazed evenly at her stepmother then at her father. "I have forgotten…" she muttered, looking away from the faces staring at her.

"Forgotten your manners apparently!" Megan put in.

Terry laughed, startling everyone at the table. "Manners?" she questioned. "Is there even a need for manners when I'm here before you?" She shook her head and got to her feet. "I've momentarily forgotten the reason why I rarely come here." Her emerald green eyes darkened as she looked at her father. "It's because here, I'm not considered family no matter how much you insist on it." She nodded her head to her half-siblings and stepped away from the table. "I'm excusing myself."

Nathan raised a hand up, which stopped the retreat of his daughter. "Will you at least share a glass of wine with me? It wouldn't be seemly for me to enjoy your gift without you here."

Terry shrugged and decided that it wouldn't hurt.

"Shall we head to the veranda then?" Nathan led his seething wife and emotionless daughter outside and settled everyone on table with wine glasses and the chilled bottle. "A toast then to my birthday," he said, raising his glass into the air. He sighed inwardly as Terry and Megan followed suit but silently. He watched as Terry downed her glass right away then got to her feet. "No more?"

Terry shook her head. "I'm driving and I have to head to work early tomorrow morning."

"Her work is more important than family of course." Megan smirked as she swirled the contents of her glass in a delicate manner. "In any case, don't you have something to talk about with your daughter, Nathan?"

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows and set his glass aside. "Terry. You'll be incorporating your company soon."

"What of it?" Terry rubbed the back of her neck, looking rather indifferent.

"It seems like a good investment," Nathan remarked. "I'll be retiring in a couple of years and having a good investment will make sure that I live well in my retirement." He fingered the rim of his wine glass. "I mentioned that I wish to make myself and Megan shareholders of your company once it becomes a corporation."

Terry suddenly smiled. It pleased her that it instantly wiped off the smirk on Megan's face. "I'm afraid you're too late, dad," she told him. "As much as I have to admit that it's a good move particularly on your part, I would like to keep my company strictly professional." She shrugged her shoulders as Megan became furious. "I've learned that involving family in one's business doesn't always result in improvement."

"What? How dare you make that decision?" Megan demanded. "How dare you disobey your father-"

"I can dare all I want! I own the company!" Terry interrupted in an icy voice.

"Won't you reconsider, Terry?" Nathan asked.

"As I said, it's too late. My accountant has already submitted the articles of incorporation," Terry told her father, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Anyway, I'm going to head on home. Thanks for dinner and happy birthday." Without a second look, she stalked over to her black Range Rover HSE and hastily boarded it. She couldn't wait to get away from that snake pit her father calls home. Upping the volume of the radio, she let the music help her forget about what had just happened. It took her nearly an hour of driving for her to arrive at her home located in the gated community of Shadow Park, Cerritos. To those who didn't know Terry well, they would immediately think that she was a very wealthy woman. True, Terry became wealthy after her stint in band, but it was a year after she opened her business that money came easily. She and her band mates shared one common goal when they started earning money: buy individual houses. Terry was the first to purchase a house of her own and even helped her friends in their own search and eventual purchase. Terry's house in particular was a five-bedroom and three-bathroom home. It was partially furnished when she purchased it and it had a large backyard, pool and three-car garage. She always explained to new acquaintances that she chose such a large home so that her band mates could stay with her whenever they wished.

As she drove up to her home, she recognized the beat up old pickup truck of Kelly and Miles' Lexus GS sedan parked along the curb. It wasn't really unusual for her two friends to drop by suddenly. After all, they knew the gate code to enter Shadow Park and where she hides the spare key in case of such visits. After easing her Range Rover into the garage, she cut of the engines and hopped out. Trying the front door, she found that it was unlocked so she tiredly entered her abode.

"Miles! Kelly! What the hell are the two of you doing here unannounced?" Terry yelled as she kicked off her shoes and padded barefoot towards her living room.

"Someone sounds cranky," Kelly remarked loudly.

"She's always cranky whenever she comes from her dad's home," Miles reminded his friend, smiling knowingly. He kept grinning as Terry strode into the living room.

"I don't have time to entertain you-" Terry's speech halted abruptly when she realized that it wasn't just Kelly and Miles who were in her living room. She only had a few seconds to recognize the five pairs of eyes gazing at her happily when a body barreled into her and made her stagger back. "What the hell…" She looked down at the familiar mop of burgundy hair. "Sawako?"

Kelly grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "Surprise!"

Mugi bowed respectfully to Terry. "We decided to come to California for our spring break trip," she informed the redhead.

"We try to go abroad at least once a year since we started going to college," Ritsu explained.

"It's to broaden our horizons and such," Mio added, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Azusa smiled. "Ritsu-senpai wants to go see the sights mostly though," she teased, garnering herself a warning look from the drummer of their band.

"Besides, Sawa-chan has been really depressing ever since you left," Yui pointed out. "We mostly decided to pick California as our destination so that we could invite Sawa-chan to come along with us."

Terry shook her head ruefully and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. She had been planning to contact Sawako to make up with her, but her former students had made things easier by bringing her along. Lowering her head so that she could speak into Sawako's ear, she softly said, "I missed you."

Sawako's response was to tighten her hold on Terry and look up into her girlfriend's smiling face. "I missed you too!" she said fervently, taking hold of Terry's neck and pulling her down for a passionate kiss. It took them several seconds to confirm their love for each other before they finally pulled away. "Can you forgive me?"

"You being here is enough," Terry replied sincerely, pressing their foreheads together. Before she could claim another kiss, a loud grumble penetrated the air.

"Yui!" Mio and Ritsu shouted.

The guitarist pressed her hands against her stomach. "What? I can't help it if my stomach's hungry!" she complained, looking desperately for support from her pigtailed kohai.

"Way to ruin a perfectly romantic moment," Azusa murmured, shaking her head at her senpai.

Mugi looked further amused. "We were served food on the flight a couple of hours before we touched down in LAX. How could you be hungry already, Yui-chan?"

"But I'm hungry already!" Yui woefully told the group.

Terry startled everyone else in her living room by laughing loudly. "I'm glad that you all came! I've had a rough night and this is exactly what I need to feel better!" Keeping an arm around a beaming Sawako, she jerked her head at her kitchen. "I think I have enough food and ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator to cook something up."

Kelly rolled up his sleeves and grinned. "Allow me to cook!"

"I'll help out!" Ritsu volunteered and followed the physical therapist into the kitchen.

"I'm coming too!" Yui ran after them.

Miles nodded his head at the luggage lined up against the wall. "It's okay for them to stay with you, right Terry?"

"Of course," Terry replied. "There are four bedrooms for you to pick from and occupy," she informed Mugi, Mio and Azusa. "Go ahead and bring your stuff up."

"I'll help them carry their luggage upstairs." Miles grabbed two of the wheeled bags and led the way up to the second floor with the three younger women following him.

Terry tightened her arm around Sawako's shoulders and leaned down to nuzzle her girlfriend's hair. "Were you really depressed?" she asked, genuinely happy that Sawako was in her home.

Sawako blushed. "The girls were supposed to go to Finland, but they were getting tired of taking care of me."

"Why did they have to take care of you?" Terry asked.

"I kept going out to drink," Sawako admitted, feeling very embarrassed.

Terry chuckled and gently kissed Sawako's forehead. "Come on," she urged, grabbing Sawako's luggage. "I'll help you settle in."

"Do I get one of the bedrooms to myself?" Sawako laughed as she let Terry manhandle her bag.

Terry raised a questioning eyebrow at her girlfriend. "What gave you that notion?"

"Huh?" Sawako looked genuinely confused at what her girlfriend meant as they headed up the stairs to the second floor.

Terry winked at Sawako when they got to the landing. "I'm not going to let you sleep in a different room when you should be sharing my bed with me." She reached out and playfully slapped Sawako's behind. "You are my designated bed-warmer after all," she teased, leading the smiling bespectacled woman into her bedroom. Somehow, she knew that her spring break was starting to look up.


	12. California

_**A/N: This chapter's rating has been changed from T to M.**_

* * *

_Chapter 13: "California"_

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea, Terry." Sawako scuffed her foot against the sidewalk after getting her girlfriend to stop. "You haven't even mentioned any relationship to your parents and now you're just going to stroll into your mom's home and introduce me as your girlfriend." Her burgundy eyes were filled with worry as she looked up into Terry's face.

A smile lit on Terry's face. "I doubt there'll be a problem when I introduce you to mom," she told the bespectacled woman. "After years of raising me, she's grown less conservative."

Sawako grimly looked away and masked her anxiety by pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "It might have been better for me to have gone along with Yui and the others," she murmured. The night before, Terry had informed Sawako that she was going to take her along to lunch at her mother's home. While they'd be away, the Houkago girls wouldn't be stranded at her home. This time around, Justine had volunteered to take a day off and bring the girls to the hotspots in California. Typically, Miles would have been up to the task, but he was needed at the company office since Terry was taking a day off.

Terry sighed and took hold of Sawako's hand. With her emerald eyes filled with kindness, she said, "I know you're worried and you have every reason to feel that way." She jerked her head at the modest two-story home behind her. "There's a reason why I chose to bring you along with me and introduce you to my mom instead of my dad. Mom's less likely to get angry and criticize me for my sexual preference."

"And your dad?" Sawako inquired.

Terry frowned. "I can't really say. He's been with that _woman_ for so long now that I half expect some of that bad attitude of hers to have rubbed off on him." She shrugged her shoulders wearily upon talking about her father and stepmother. "Besides, he's not likely to defend me when she decides to bite my head off." Her green eyes hardened from anger. "He's suddenly concerned about keeping _his_ family together."

Feeling sorry for her girlfriend, Sawako gently gripped Terry's arm and leaned up on her tiptoes to peck the other woman's cheek. "I'll let you do all the talking then," she told her with a smile. "I can't help but wonder how you're going to break the news to your mom though."

Terry grimaced. "Not just to her," she replied. "My stepdad and my stepsister will be there as well." She took a deep breath and tightened her hold around Sawako's hand. "Let's get going then." She led the way up the path and paused at the front door. Hesitantly, she rang the doorbell and waited as she heard footsteps from within.

A tall man opened the door. He had wavy salt and pepper hair that fell to the top of his shoulders and a trimmed full beard and mustache. To many people, he looked like a remnant of the hippie movement although he had the look of a modernized hippie. Kind blue eyes peeked out from the folds of skin around his eyes. He stood as tall as Terry, but while the latter was tall and lithe, he was tall and stocky. "Hello Terry," he greeted with warmth. He held out his arms and embraced his stepdaughter. "And this is your friend from Japan." He smiled at Sawako and firmly shook hands with her.

"Richard, this is Sawako," Terry introduced her friend to her stepfather. She figured she could handle introducing Sawako as _her _girlfriend after lunch.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Richard said before releasing Sawako's hand. "Terry called us yesterday and said that she'd be bringing a friend along. She didn't mention how beautiful you are though." His eyes twinkled when Sawako blushed as a reaction to his compliment.

"Compliments always flow freely from his mouth when he's talking to the ladies," a woman dryly said from the kitchen.

Sawako had to force herself to keep her jaw in place when she finally saw Terry's mother. It was clear that her mother's genes ran stronger in her girlfriend. Terry's mother had the same auburn hair, emerald green eyes and sharp-angled face. She stood only an inch taller than Sawako's height of five feet and six inches, but she moved so gracefully that Sawako half-expected the older woman to have been a former dancer. Despite the presence of age lines on her face, she looked youthful especially when she was smiling as she was doing now.

Richard chuckled and quickly kissed his wife's brow to reassure her. "You're still the lady of my life, Jane," he told her before moving aside to let her embrace her daughter.

Smiling beautifully, the older redheaded woman enveloped her tall daughter in a warm embrace. "I've missed you, Terry." She tilted her face up to let Terry kiss her cheek.

"Hi Mom," Terry greeted as she returned the hug. She pulled away and led her to Sawako. "This is Sawako. She's a good friend of mine in Japan. She's been taking care of me." She watched as her mother warmly hugged Sawako as well.

"Any friend of my daughter who takes care of her is a friend of mine." She stepped away and offered her hand to Sawako. "I'm Jane Quinn," she introduced herself. She gestured for everyone to follow her into the dining room. "I've cooked all of Terry's favorite food!" she said with pride.

Terry subtly elbowed her stepfather. "Did she really do the cooking?" she murmured.

Richard winked at her. "She did."

Terry smirked. "With a lot of your help apparently," she guessed, her emerald eyes lighting up in amusement. She and Sawako sat next to each other on one side of the table while Richard and Jane sat on the other side. "I thought Khloe was going to be here," she remarked as her mother and Richard passed out the food. Her mom had told her the night before that her stepsister who was a sophomore in university was going to join them for lunch.

"She's going to be a little late," Richard replied. "She had a make-up class today so she'll come right over as soon as it's done." He gave himself a generous serving of hearty Italian sausage soup before taking it upon himself to fork over a hefty portion of steak on Terry and Sawako's plates. He caught the wide-eyed look on Sawako's face and smiled. "You must know that Terry's a carnivore," he said.

Sawako smiled. "I know," she replied. "Every time she requests for me to cook something for her, it always has to be a meat dish."

"How can you get enough energy for the day without eating any meat?" Terry asked in a mutter as she sliced her steak into neat pieces.

Jane laughed the focused her attention on Sawako. "I can't thank you enough for taking care of her. She's said a lot of good things about you."

"All good things?" Sawako asked, looking a little bit worried.

"Of course!" Jane assured the young woman. "Terry said that you were her first friend in Japan and that you and your former students have been keeping her company whenever she has free time."

"I'm flattered," Sawako said, feeling slightly embarrassed from the praise she was getting. She could only hope that Terry's mother would still feel the same way when her daughter would give her the news. When was Terry going to tell her mother anyway? It was making her anxious.

Just then, a young woman with shoulder-length black hair skidded into the dining room. Blue eyes surveyed her surroundings as she dropped her backpack onto the floor. The first thing she did was walk over to Richard and give him a kiss. Next, she hugged Jane then finally grinned widely at Terry. "Hey Terry! It's been a while!" She skipped over to her stepsister's side of the table and hugged her as well. When her eyes settled on Sawako, she raised her eyebrows questioningly which prompted Terry to introduce them.

"Khloe this is Sawako," Terry began, watching as the two women shook hands with each other and exchanged smiles. "Sawako, this is my stepsister Khloe." She gestured for the college student to take a seat next to her. "So how's college going for you?" she asked as Khloe hurriedly served herself food.

"Hectic," Khloe simply replied. She wolfed down half of her steak then gulped down a glass of water. "It's great that I'm taking up Graphic Design since it's always been my dream and all, but the workload is just crazy!"

Terry laughed and exchanged a knowing look with Sawako. "I _know_ what you mean."

Khloe abruptly focused her attention on her stepsister's friend. "So what do you do, Sawako?"

"I'm a high school teacher, but currently I'm working to attain my master's degree in Educational Psychology," Sawako readily explained.

"She's usually either a homeroom teacher or a music teacher," Terry added. "She also handles two of the music-related clubs of the students."

"So you're a musician as well, huh?" Richard rubbed his bearded chin in thought. "And a music teacher too to boot!" He grinned and flashed a thumbs-up sign. "I'm starting to like this friend of yours, Terry," he told his stepdaughter.

The former famous musician laughed. "You like anyone who's into music like you are, Richard," she teasingly accused him. "Why do you think we get along so well?"

"That's certainly true," Richard readily agreed, his eyes crinkling with hidden laughter. "So what instrument do you play then?" he asked. "Or should I say _instruments,_ am I right?" he amended.

"Piano and guitar," Sawako replied.

"She sings too," Terry informed her family.

"Very talented indeed!" Richard linked his fingers together and leaned his chin atop them. "You'd be a great addition to the staff of my school!"

Jane smiled widely. "That would be great! With you, Terry and Sawako here in your school, you'll have students from all over the country coming to hone their skills in music!"

Terry frowned. "The school doesn't even exist."

"Yet," Jane pointed out, giving her daughter a look. "Now Terry-"

"Mom!" Terry let out in an exasperated voice. "Why do we have to talk about this now of all times! I recall telling you that I don't want to hear and discuss this topic ever again!"

"But dear, it's a more suitable profession for you," Jane explained in the usual motherly way mothers would speak to their stubborn and naïve children. "You're an extremely talented musician and I'm glad you've given up running around in that band of yours. Now you have the time to use your talent appropriately."

"Oh no… here we go again…" Khloe muttered as she moved away from the table and motioned for Sawako to do the same.

Sawako ignored the warning and chose to stay in place by her girlfriend's side. She could feel waves of anger roll off from Terry's body even if it was easy to see the furious look on her face. She figured that her girlfriend had a temper, but she had never seen Terry totally lose control of it. Now may be the first time for her to experience it, but she was hoping she would be able to stop it from happening.

"Is that it you see in me?" Terry demanded, her emerald green eyes flashing dangerously. "Is it just the music you see that's good in me?"

"It's your best point," Jane replied. She didn't look fazed by the situation although to careful observers, they would notice the slight crinkle of worry lining Jane's forehead.

"My… _best_… point," Terry said with terrifying enunciation. "And when I was _utilizing_ my so-called best point by playing in a band, you looked down your nose at my decision."

Jane sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "A young woman of your stature and talent is more suited to a career that's…" she frowned as she tried to come up with the right words to use. "… more feminine, simple and not flashy."

"Why the hell do you have to be so damned conservative?" Terry shouted, the dam within her finally breaking. "I'm person that has her own will and freedom! I'm not some puppet for you to manipulate!"

The same emerald green eyes this time flashed angrily as well. Jane Quinn did not like the tone of voice her daughter was using with her. "I _am_ your mother and I know what's best-"

"You don't know a thing that's best for me!" Terry interrupted with a shout. "I've let you and dad make a mess of your lives!" She glared bitterly at her mother and ignored the shocked looks on Richard and Khloe's faces. "Heck, I even allowed the two of you to make a mess of _my_ life! I chose to do something productive rather than let the two of you rule me and make things worse." She met her mother's eyes evenly with her own, daring her to deny the things she just said. "I dove into music to forget and when that part of my life passed, I decided to pursue another passion, which you don't approve of as well." She threw her hands up in the air. "Make up your mind and put it in that head of yours that whatever I do is for my _own_ happiness! It doesn't have to be for yours!" She paused to take a breath and continue her angry tirade when she felt a hand press against her thigh. She looked into the worried face of Sawako and easily read what she was trying to tell her. She sighed and faced her mother once more, noticing that there were tears in Jane's eyes. It was only now that she completely lost her temper with her mother and she knew that she hurt her with the things she said. She didn't regret it though. Everything that came out of her mouth was the truth.

"Jane…" Richard walked back to the table and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Terry is certainly old enough to choose what to do with her life." He swallowed a gulp down his throat when his wife shot him a hurt look. She obviously expected her second husband to back her up. "She has committed mistakes," he said, obviously aware of the escapades his stepdaughter and her band mates got into. "But her success greatly outweighs those mistakes. Even though they have disbanded, she's still a well-known and respected musician and she's doing wonders with her software development company." He gently tightened his hold on Jane's shoulder. "Even though I'm not her real father, that's something I'd be very proud of."

"Meaning, you should be proud of her for who she is," Khloe pointed out, falling silent quickly when her stepmother glared at her. "Hey, I'm just trying to help out here!"

"Khloe, let me handle this," Richard said warily, hoping to calm things down. "Dinner was going so well… I hoped that we could have a _normal_ family dinner." He looked first at Khloe and then at Sawako. "It was unnecessary to expose… the thorny side of this household." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "The music school is a grand idea really," he informed everyone. "I intend to make it a reality as soon as I'm able to. It would make things easier if Terry would join the teaching staff, but it's her decision to make. I respect her decision… _all _her decisions." He looked pointedly at his wife. "I believe I've said my part as the good father or stepfather in particular."

"I still think that a career in a music school would better suit you," Jane told her daughter who merely gave her a steely look. "You're so buried in your work and it's not becoming for someone of your talent, education and status."

"It may not be becoming for you mom," Terry said, quickly getting worn out from the conversation. "But it suits me just fine. I'm happy with what I'm doing now," she told her. "Richard's music school is a good opportunity, but I just don't see myself in that kind of career and environment especially at this part of my life." She drummed her fingers against the table, letting the activity and the feel of Sawako's hand on her thigh calm her down. "I'm proud to be your daughter," she said with utmost sincerity. "I just want you to be proud of me… of the things I've chosen to do in my life."

Jane frowned and shook her head. "I… still can't come to a decision about this," she gestured at them collectively. "For now, let's put this behind us. It's unseemly for us to quarrel in front of our guest." She gave a cold apologetic smile at Sawako then got to her feet. "I'm going to clean up the table."

"I'll help out," Khloe volunteered and helped her stepmother gather the plates and utensils on the table. "I'll load everything into the dishwasher, Jane," she said as she led the way into the kitchen.

Richard ruefully shook his head and motioned for Terry and Sawako to follow him into the living room. "I'm sorry, Terry," he immediately apologized when all of them were seated. "I've been trying to loosen her grip on you, but it's been difficult."

Terry shrugged. "Some mothers are just really like that," she remarked. "I just happen to be a certain kid who happened to have that kind of mother." She turned to Sawako and gave her a shaky smile. "Sorry Sawako… I didn't mean for this to happen."

Sawako shook her head and took Terry's hand into her own. "It's okay Terry," she reassured her. "Things like this happen and I won't deny that similar situations have happened in my own household." She gave the same rueful smile at her companions.

"Not intending to poke at the embers here, but I do have a question of my own," Richard told his stepdaughter. "We've been informed enough about your ongoing education in Japan and the things you do in your spare time."

"Yes?" Terry asked, prompting her stepfather to get to the point.

Smiling slyly, he asked, "Any chance of a development in your love life while you were in Japan?"

Terry stared at her second father for a good few seconds before she felt her face turn crimson from heat.

"Aha! I knew it!" Richard exclaimed loudly.

"Knew what?" Khloe asked, coming over from the kitchen to join in the conversation.

"Your stepsister apparently has broken her personal record of being single!" Richard announced happily. "What? It's been four years since you were last in a relationship? Seriously, this is good news!" He grinned happily at her.

Khloe laughed and slapped Terry's back. "I'll be ecstatic for the both of us then!" She jumped up and down while hooting up a storm, which only made Terry blush into a deeper shade of red. Meanwhile, the father and daughter pair hardly noticed that Sawako had gone dead silent.

"So Sawako," Richard suddenly said. "Would you be able to tell us about Terry's love life? It's always been a difficult task for us to get her to open up to us about her love life."

Terry cleared her throat as her eyes quickly flicked over to look at Sawako. She couldn't hide their relationship any longer since they just touched on the topic of her love life. "Ummm… Richard…" she began nervously. "When you said that you'd respect all the decisions I would make, you meant it right?"

Richard frowned. "Of course I did! Did you think I was lying?"

"No!" Terry hurriedly exclaimed. "I didn't mean to come off that way!"

"Don't tell me you're dating some Japanese Goth boy," Jane disdainfully said though there was a somewhat forced smile on her face. "The last few boys you dated…" she frowned at the memory. "… they were… _boys." _Like her husband and stepdaughter earlier, she also failed to notice Sawako flinching at what she said. "Well? Out with it, Terry. I think I have some semblance of a right to know who my daughter is dating."

Terry didn't know how else to explain so she merely gestured at the woman seated next to her.

Richard looked thoroughly confused. "Do we have to get Sawako to tell us?" He was about to repeat his question because Terry didn't answer when Khloe let out an audible gasp.

"Really?" Khloe exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands. "This is so totally unexpected!" She stared at Terry in shock for a few moments then grinned wildly at her. "Although, I must say your picking ability has vastly improved!"

"Terry…" Jane ominously looked at her seated daughter. "Are you dating… Sawako?"

Instead of rising to defend herself and her girlfriend, Terry wearily nodded her head and submitted herself to what she expected to be a long and blistering lecture. She didn't have enough energy to come up with another angry tirade to give to her mother.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

* * *

Justine led the tired but extremely content Houkago girls into Terry's home. She had planned a day of touring them around the famous and popular spots within the area, but she ended up changing the plan when she saw that her younger tourists were distracted by the shops on Rodeo Drive. Seeing that all of them wanted to shop, she drove them to a shopping outlet situated in the desert and helped them select things for themselves and for their friends and families back home in Japan. They spent so much time at the outlet that they ended up stopping for dinner on the way home. Justine had generously offered to treat them out for that certain meal. It was past eight in the evening when they finally arrived back at Terry's home.

"Okay girls! Let's unload all your shopping bags and bring them into the house!" Justine pulled open the backdoor of her Audi Q5 SUV and passed out shopping bags to the Japanese girls. "We could just reschedule sightseeing to another day."

Yui grinned up at the model. "You'll still be our tourist guide, right?"

Justine couldn't help but grin back. She found out earlier that Yui's grins were infectious. "I'd love to, but I'll have to find a way to work around my hectic schedule."

"Good thing you took us to that outlet in the desert, Justine-san!" Azusa told the older woman. "Just looking at all those shops in Rodeo Drive made me dizzy!"

Ritsu laughed. "Same here! Some of the prices of the stuff in those shops almost made me pass out!" She glanced at the ever-smiling Mugi. "Although Mugi-chan probably could have afforded to shop at Rodeo Drive," she wistfully said. "The outlet prices were better suited for me."

"I won't disagree with that," Mio put in as she struggled with her share of heavy shopping bags. "But seriously Ritsu! You and Yui went straight for the music shop and the food court!" she accused her two friends.

"Hey! We still did a lot of shopping at other stores!" Ritsu said in defense of herself and Yui.

"Although most of what they shopped was for them," Mugi mused, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "I can make a good guess that they've depleted the money they brought with them so much that there's hardly enough to shop again and bring home souvenirs for their family."

Yui and Ritsu looked at each other sheepishly. Mugi was right about their current financial situation. "We'll figure something out!" Yui said with cheerful optimism as she skipped to the front door. They all trudged into Terry's home and settled all their bags on the floor.

"Anybody home?" Justine called.

"In the study!" Terry called from the said room.

"Terry-san and Sawa-chan are home?" Mio asked no one in particular. "I thought they'd be out somewhere."

Justine shrugged. "Maybe they decided to stay in tonight," she guessed. "They did have lunch at her mom's home." They all trooped into the study of Terry and saw that she was working on her laptop.

"How'd today go?" Terry asked without looking up from her computer.

Justine frowned. She noticed right away that something was off with her friend. Her friend's shoulders drooped as if something heavy weighed her down. She could also hear the weariness in her voice when she talked. "It went pretty well. We cut the sightseeing short and went to the shopping outlet instead."

"It was great, Terry-san!" Yui gushed. "We bought so many things!"

Terry didn't bother concealing how she currently felt and let out a long sigh. "Wish I could say the same for me," she muttered, swiveling her chair around so that she could look at her audience.

"Bad lunch date with the other family?" Justine guessed easily.

Terry nodded her head in confirmation. "Quite bad," she replied, smiling ruefully.

"Where's Sawa-chan?" Ritsu wondered.

The redhead got out from her seat and led the way into the living room. She then gestured outside through the large glass doors. In the lamp-lit backyard's far end, there squatted a familiar brunette, dejectedly facing the fenced-in corner. "I've been trying to get her to come inside since we got home," she murmured, pressing a hand against her aching head.

"The introduction didn't go too well, huh?" Justine mused, feeling sorry for her friend.

"It went well at first when I introduced her as a friend," Terry explained. "Things started going downhill when mom started lecturing me about the usual topic again."

Mugi asked, "What topic?"

Justine looked at Terry for permission before explaining to the college girls. "Well, you probably know that Terry has two families since her parents found new partners and remarried. Both families…" Justine scratched the back of her neck and decided to just be as forward as possible. "Let's just say that they've been a source of problems for Terry here."

"How so?" Mio tugged Ritsu to sit on the couch with her.

"To put things simply, the biggest problem in Terry's dad's new family is the wife," Justine explained. "She absolutely despises Terry and makes it a point to make her life miserable."

Azusa frowned. "That's awful! Is Terry-san's dad doing anything about it?" Justine didn't answer, but she could see the answer in Terry's eyes. "Oh… What about the family of your mom then?"

Justine took a breath before continuing her explanation. "Well, Terry's mom hasn't been exactly happy with the life choices she's made."

"Her being a musician?" Mio asked, shivering at the thought of her own parents disapproving of her love for music. Could she ever let it go just to appease them? She didn't think she could do it and she doubted that such a strong-minded woman like Terry would do the same.

"Yes and more," Justine replied, perching on the arm of the couch. "Aunt Jane was really big into the arts. She was a ballerina in her youth and she was glad that Terry here was interested in the arts even though it was the musical kind. She encouraged Terry to learn and become passionate about music, but eventually she started to disapprove of the things Terry did." She and Terry looked at each other and exchanged shrugs. "Like getting involved in a band and getting into all sorts of trouble," she told them.

"But you disbanded years ago!" Ritsu pointed out. "Shouldn't she be happy now that Terry-san stopped?"

Justine smiled bitterly. "Aunt Jane simply had to find another thing to dislike. This time around, it's Terry's business. I'm not sure if she mentioned it to you, but her stepfather plans to put up a music school. Aunt Jane tends to be too persistent whenever she suggests to Terry that she give up her business and help out in the school."

Mugi nodded her head in understanding. "I could perfectly understand why you're upset, Terry-san," she remarked, tapping her chin in thought. "It's definitely vexing if your parents keep trying to control your life." She shook her head. "If I were in your shoes, I'd probably be throwing tantrums especially if I was being made to give up one of my passions."

Yui pressed her face against the cold glass of the sliding door. "Shouldn't we get Sawa-chan inside? It's cold out there." She looked worriedly at their teacher then back at her friends inside the house.

Terry furrowed her eyebrows. "I'd try, but I haven't been successful in all my attempts. She just ignores me."

"Did Aunt Jane blow up when you told her that Sawako was your girlfriend?" Justine asked, walking over to stand next to Yui and gaze at the dejected Japanese woman.

Terry rubbed her eyes. "She didn't blow up per se," she mumbled. "Although I swear, you could literally feel the whole room grow so cold. Mom just stared at Sawako for a long time then said that she's just a pretty face before she walked out."

"No wonder Sawa-chan is depressed," Azusa said, feeling a little bit mournful.

"She's always been concerned about how people view her," Mio explained to Justine. "Having someone tell her that she's _just _a pretty face hit her really hard."

"It hit her thrice as hard because it's her girlfriend's mom who said it," Ritsu added.

Justine looked at her manicured fingernails and came to a decision. "You girls go cook these two some dinner," she ordered, looking over at Terry and correctly guessing that her friend and Sawako haven't eaten yet. "Let me have a try with Sawako."

"Will you be able to help her?" Yui asked curiously.

Justine smiled. "I'm more experienced when it comes to these kinds of situations," she said soberly, raising a knowing eyebrow at her redheaded friend. "You go finish whatever work you have to do. I'll talk to Sawako and try to get her to come back inside before she catches a cold."

Terry gave her friend a relieved look before going back into her study.

Making sure that everyone was preoccupied with their tasks, Justine then slid the door open and stepped out into the backyard. It was chilly outside and she was rather appalled that Sawako managed to stay out for so long. She carefully made her way to the foreign woman. Instead of talking to her, she leaned against the fence then slid down its length to sit on the grass next to the still squatting Sawako. She sat there waiting patiently for several minutes until Sawako finally spoke.

"It always comes down to looks," she whispered.

Justine closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wooden fence. "That's usually the case with people who are just too blind to really see the worth of a person," she calmly explained. "One gets accustomed to it."

Sawako twisted her head to look at the model. "Are you accustomed to it then?"

Justine grimaced. "No I'm not, but I've gotten pretty good at shutting them out."

"Justine…" Sawako paused and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. "Were you ever… you know… introduced to your girlfriend's parents?"

"More than a few times," Justine easily replied. "Most were bad encounters while another girl's parents faked being nice because their daughter was dating a rich model who happened to have the right connections." Justine sighed at the bad memories that played in her head. "It's mostly the reason why I don't really date anymore." She gave the Japanese woman a bitter smile. "I'm more into the friends with benefits type of relationship or the more usual one-night stand."

Sawako couldn't help but feel confused. How could this beautiful woman before her dislike commitment? She had heard from Terry so many times how her friend's careless method of dealing with relationships had gotten her into trouble often. She could certainly just settle down with just one woman and be content with a committed relationship.

"In any case, you shouldn't let yourself be bothered by Aunt Jane's reaction," Justine said. "She reacted badly too when Terry told her that I was a lesbian." She shrugged her slender shoulders. "She came around eventually. She'll do the same when she sees that you've done so much good to Terry ever since the two of you got together."

"But still!" Sawako protested.

The raven-haired model raised a questioning eyebrow. "Do you think Terry puts importance in getting her parents' approval?" She shook her head. "You witnessed firsthand that Terry doesn't care much about what her parents think about her. She does what she wants with her life. Knowing her, she's hardly bothered that her mom doesn't exactly approve of you." She locked eyes with Sawako. "Terry's bothered more by how you're taking this badly." Justine gestured at Sawako. "She doesn't want you to be affected."

"She doesn't?" Sawako asked, surprised. She was actually thinking that Terry was concerned about the disapproval of her mom.

Justine chuckled. "I told you," she repeated. "Terry doesn't care what other people, including her own family, say about her and what she does with her life. She's very free-spirited and quite dense when it comes to criticisms aimed at her." She pushed herself up to her feet and dusted off the blades of grass that stuck to her jeans. "From the time I've known her, those traits of hers have mostly done her good. The latter trait did a lot of good even for us especially when we were still together as a band."

"People criticized your music?"

"Our music, our lifestyle and everything else you could think of," Justine said with a laugh. "We were still young back then so we didn't do too well whenever we got hit with criticisms. Terry on the other hand took everything with a straight face and just shrugged her shoulders every time someone criticized us." Justine smiled as she fondly thought of the past. "With Terry taking everything in stride, things weren't as difficult."

"All of you love her, huh?" Since she first met the band mates of her girlfriend, she could literally feel the overwhelming love they had for Terry. After hearing Justine's part, it just made her heart swell more with pride and love.

"More than most people would see," Justine replied, offering her hand to Sawako. She helped the older woman up to her feet. "She gets enough love from her friends," she said, then jerked her head at the house. "What she really needs is a different kind of love and I'm sure you know where that's supposed to come from."

Sawako blushed.

"Come on. The girls should be about done making dinner for you and Terry." The raven-haired woman took Sawako by the arm and towed her back into the house.

"Sawa-chan!" Yui popped her head out of the kitchen and waved at their beloved teacher. "Dinner's almost ready!"

"Yui! Get back in here! We're not yet finished!" Ritsu ordered.

Justine shook her head in amusement and went to sit on a nearby armchair. "Why don't you go fetch Terry for dinner?" She gestured at the closed study door. "I'm sure she's expecting you."

Sawako wordlessly walked to the closed door. She raised her fist to knock, hesitated for a moment then knocked a couple of times.

"Come in!" Terry called from within.

Pushing the door open, Sawako quietly stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Immediately her burgundy eyes locked with those gentle emerald green orbs.

Terry got out of her chair and stretched the kinks out of her lower back. "Feeling better?" she asked.

Sawako nodded. "Justine talked some sense into me," she replied, lowering her eyes and feeling suddenly embarrassed. "I'm sorry… I was acting like a child."

"Don't apologize, Sawako," Terry told her, threading her fingers through her tussled auburn hair. "I was the one who insisted on bringing you with me anyway. It could have been avoided. I should have known better that my mom would react that way." She shook her head and walked towards her girlfriend. "I could have spared you from such a horrible experience."

Shaking her head, Sawako walked into Terry's embrace and burrowed her head into the taller woman's chest. "It would have probably been the same if I introduced you to my parents," she said. "I should just keep you to myself."

Terry chuckled and pressed her nose against the top of Sawako's head. "I'd do the same." She leaned back a little and urged her girlfriend to look up into her face. "I don't care what other people say about us. As long as you're with me-"

Sawako pressed a finger against her girlfriend's lips, silencing her. "I know," she softly said. Smiling, she twined her arms around Terry's neck, leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against hers. "I love you, Terry," she murmured breathlessly as she allowed Terry to deepen the kiss. Moments later, she felt her lover grip her waist and lift her up. She felt them twirl around then was gently settled on the edge of Terry's desk. She tilted her head back to deepen the kiss and let her fingers gently twine into Terry's hair.

"Terry-san! Sawa-chan! Dinner is ready!" The door swung open and several gasps were heard.

Sawako reluctantly pulled away from the kiss and leaned around Terry to glare at her former students and a very amused Justine. She was pretty sure that Justine had purposely kept it to herself that they might be doing something adult-rated in the study. "Can't we have some privacy?" she complained, releasing her hold on the suddenly skittish Terry.

Yui had a huge Cheshire cat grin on her face as she surveyed the situation in the small room. "How can you have privacy when there's so many of us staying in Terry-san's home?" she asked teasingly. She glanced at Azusa who was holding a hand over her mouth. "You practically can't get any privacy in any of the rooms here and because of that, I haven't had any opportunities to get Azu-nyan alone!"

"Yui-senpai!" Azusa shouted, turning crimson with embarrassment.

Yui shrugged. "What? I was being honest! It's hard enough to get you to return my affection!"

Mugi was also smiling. "We didn't mean to interrupt your time together," she said politely. "It's just that your dinner will go cold."

Ritsu added, "Besides, Justine-san said we should just come in and get you to the dining room."

Terry sighed and ran her fingers through her hair to give it some order. "And you didn't realize that Justine just wanted to have fun at our expense."

"Hey, what can I do? It's fun to see you get embarrassed!" Justine flapped a hand at her scowling friend and walked back to the comforts of the armchair she previously occupied. "Now hurry up and get your butts to the dining room and make Mio over there sit down before she faints!" She smiled as Ritsu grabbed hold of her furiously blushing best friend and made her sit on the couch.

Mugi gestured for the two lovers to follow her outside and into the dining room. "We did our best cooking up dinner for the two of you."

"It's the least we could do since you're letting us stay here for free," Yui chirped as she skipped to the kitchen to fetch the dishes they prepared. "And it's to cheer you up after having a rough day!"

Terry shook her head as she followed the college students. "I've already gained a few pounds since you girls raided my home and started cooking meals for me," she mused, catching hold of Sawako's hand and squeezing it. "Not that I don't like it," she assured them with a grin.

"It's because of this arrangement that I can't get you alone," Sawako complained, glaring at her sheepish students. "Oh well," she sighed and gave her lover a suggestive look. "I can at least think of one place where we can have some privacy."

Terry raised her eyebrows as they sat at the table. "And where is that?"

Sawako fluttered her lashes. "Your bedroom."

"Oh no…" Terry threw her hands up in the air. "You can't honestly expect us to do anything in there!" she said. "Sure it's _my _bedroom, but that doesn't mean people won't hear what's going on inside!"

Sawako grinned triumphantly. "So you _are_ expecting me to do something?"

Face heating up, Terry did her best to glare at her girlfriend and was glad when Mugi, Yui and Azusa set the laden dishes on the table before them. "I'll be sure to tell you _when _I'm ready for that something," she grumbled.

Yui nudged Mugi. "How do two girls make love anyway?" she asked.

Azusa's face once again bloomed into a deep crimson color. "Y-Y-Yui-senpai! Y-You shouldn't ask things like that!"

Yui smiled and gave her kohai a sultry wink. "I'll have to find out one way _or_ the other." She grinned when Azusa's jaw dropped open in shock then looked over at the thoughtful Mugi. "So Mugi-chan, would you happen to know how girls make love to each other?"

Mugi tapped her chin in thought. "I have a general idea, but it might be better to ask someone more experienced." She jerked her head at Justine who waved in reply. "Or you could always look it up on the internet," she suggested, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I could certainly discuss how the deed is done," Justine remarked from her seat. "From the looks of it, Terry hardly has any idea how to do it. I'd rather get her ready enough so that she doesn't Sawako once the time comes." She winked at her friend. "Shall I explain then?"

"Yes please!" Yui happily replied.

"Yui!" Mio shouted from the living room. "There is no way you're going to make Justine-san explain that!"

"But I need some tips!" Yui complained.

"You won't need those tips for a long time Yui-senpai!" Azusa retorted, pressing her hands against her heated cheeks.

Ritsu scratched her head. "Maybe I should listen in too when Justine-san gives that special lecture of hers," she mused, flinching in pain when her best friend smacked the back of her head with her fist. "What?" she cried out. "It might be interesting!" she defended.

"And who would you use those _tips_ on?" Mio retorted, glaring at her friend.

Ritsu shrugged her shoulders. "It might be useful in the future," she carefully said, giving her best friend a meaningful look. She knew that she was going a bit overboard with all the hints she's been giving, but she couldn't help it. The drummer was starting to get frustrated because she was surrounded by couples if you consider Yui and Azusa's relationship as official.

Mio's face flushed into a deep red color and immediately turned away. It was hard to ignore all the subtle hints her best friend was dropping on her. She was in denial that her best friend could be harboring feelings for her. It was just… strange. How could Ritsu have feelings for her? They've best friends for so many years.

"If you want that special lecture, you'll have to schedule it for another day," Justine said, cutting off Mio's turbulent thoughts. The model was on her feet and checking the time on her watch. "I should get going. I have work early tomorrow morning." She saw Terry's questioning look and smiled. "Photo shoot," she clarified. "Oh before I forget!" Justine grabbed her purse and shuffled through its contents. She pulled out seven calling card-sized invitations. "A friend of mine is having a launch party for her clothing line. I figured you girls would like to come along." She handed the invitations to Terry for safekeeping. "You have to present that to get in."

"We'll come," Terry decided. She raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Anything interesting that's supposed to happen there?" she asked.

Justine shrugged. "Not really. There's going to be a ramp show that will feature my friend's clothing line."

"And if there's a ramp show, there are also going to be _pretty _models and other high-class women in attendance," Terry remarked in a dry voice.

Sawako elbowed her girlfriend. "Terry, don't do that."

Justine chuckled. "It's alright, Sawako. Terry always says that anyway," she explained. "Dress up nicely for the event okay?" She waved goodbye to her friends then left the house.

Terry sighed in pure content as she allowed Yui to take her empty plate to the sink. "Thanks for dinner, girls," she told them with a grateful smile. "Just put those dishes in the dishwasher and it'll do all the work." She covered a yawn with her hand. "I'm rather tired so I'll be heading upstairs to my room. If you girls plan to stay up late-"

"As they've been doing each night since arriving here," Sawako interrupted in a mutter.

Terry smiled. "Just try to keep it down a bit." She returned the girls' bids of goodnight before heading up to the second floor of her home. She tiredly hauled off her shirt and dragged her feet to her closet. She was wearing a pair of cotton pants and was in the process of putting on one of her sleeveless night shirts when Sawako came in. "What?" she demanded, seeing the hungry look on her girlfriend's face.

Sawako sighed and plopped down onto Terry's king-sized bed. "I was just hoping that you wouldn't put on your shirt yet." She winked at her blushing girlfriend who hurriedly put on her shirt.

"Those hormones of yours are running high," Terry muttered, moving into her bathroom to brush her teeth.

"I can't help it," Sawako replied, laying back on the clean sheets and staring up into the ceiling. "We've been stuck on first base since we started dating." She had nothing against kissing Terry though. It was enjoyable and Terry was a great kisser. It was getting to the point that she craved more than just the touch of their lips. Sawako knew that it was for the best that she take things slow with Terry rather than scare her off. Still, she had to somehow ease Terry into being more comfortable with the intimacy expected in a relationship. "It's getting a little boring having to keep kissing," she mused.

"Kissing can lead to more serious things," Terry replied, wiping her face with a towel before heading towards her bed.

Sawako rolled over and held herself up with her arms. Her hazel eyes locked with Terry's emerald green eyes, effectively freezing her in place. "Why are you so reluctant to take a step further?" she asked. Her eyes never left those emerald orbs until Terry looked away and heavily sat down on the edge of her bed facing away from Sawako. "Terry…"

"I have no guts alright!" Terry muttered, shaking head. She was glad Sawako couldn't see her face, which was red with embarrassment and shame. "I'm scared of having sex and I'm scared of disappointing you." The former musician pressed a hand against her head. "I'm just damned inexperienced when it comes to this."

Sawako gazed at her girlfriend, got on all fours and crawled over to her. She raised herself up, draped her arms over Terry's shoulder and pressed her supple body into that warm and solid back. She momentarily felt Terry stiffen from the contact. "I know you said that your first time was very unmemorable, but I didn't realize that it's made you this reluctant to the deed."

Terry shuddered as she suddenly felt conscious of Sawako's softness pressing into her back. "I'm sorry, Sawako. I know I've been making you wait." She reached up and set her hand on one of Sawako's arms that was twined around her neck.

"Why would you ever think that you'd disappoint me?" Sawako gently asked.

Terry frowned. "I told you, I'm inexperienced."

"That doesn't matter-"

"Sawako!" Terry interrupted. She struggled to calm herself, but her tightly clenched fist atop her lap was shaking. "The only experience I have from that first time I had sex was to lie back, let my clothes get taken off and spread my legs!"

The bespectacled woman was shocked. It was no wonder Terry's view of sex was so… low and meaningless. "He did nothing?" Sawako demanded in an angry whisper. "He did absolutely nothing to make you feel good?" She was starting to tremble in anger. Just thinking about what her girlfriend went through was making her livid with rage.

Terry shook her head. "It doesn't matter, Sawako," she softly told her. "It was years ago and it was a meaningless encounter." She was going to suggest that they go to bed when she was suddenly thrown onto her back. Wide-eyed she stared up into Sawako's looming face. Her girlfriend had pinned her onto her bed. She gazed into those hazel eyes filled with yearning and lust. "S-Sawako… y-you…" she fumbled for words. "…w-we don't have to do this."

Instead of replying, Sawako ever so slowly leaned down and gently pressed her lips against Terry's. Her knees straddled Terry's waist, but she knew that her girlfriend could easily throw her off if she wished to. She slowly eased her lips off and reached up with her fingers to gently caress Terry's heated lips. As she gazed down at the confused look on the redhead's face, Sawako allowed herself a small smile before leaning down again to claim another kiss. When Terry's hands hesitantly glided up her sides, Sawako shuddered and let her lips wander down her girlfriend's jaw before settling on the pulsing point on that slender neck. She lipped and suckled at the sensitive areas of Terry's neck then let her hands settle atop her lover's questing hands. Murmuring encouraging sounds to Terry, she guided those hands to the hem of her shirt and urged them to touch and explore the flesh beneath. Sawako bit back a moan as hesitant fingertips burned a trail from her waist to the sensitive skin beneath her breasts.

"Sawako…" Terry whispered, her throat tight.

Slipping her glasses off, Sawako put them atop the bedside table then leaned in to place her lips close to Terry's ear. "Take it off…" she murmured heatedly. She held still, waiting for Terry to make up her mind. It was a difficult struggle for Sawako. She wanted to just take over and lavish her girlfriend, but she knew this was the best way to ease Terry's discomfort. _Yes! _Sawako bit her lower lip as Terry slowly lifted her shirt up. She took over the task and tossed her shirt onto the floor, leaving her in just her black skinny jeans and a lacy black strapless bra.

Terry gulped at the sight before her. Her hands were shaking and she wasn't sure if they were sweaty due to her frayed nerves. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn't help but trace the contours of Sawako's creamy and silky skin with her eyes. Her hands itched to do the same, but for the moment they were frozen at Sawako's waist. She closed her eyes tightly, fighting the urge to hyperventilate.

"It's alright…" Sawako softly told her in a soothing voice. She took hold of Terry's hands and settled them on her firm and well-shaped bottom. "Don't be… afraid," she lipped the base of Terry's throat.

"B-But I don't know-" Terry stammered, unsure of what she was supposed to at this moment.

"It's okay… you'll do fine," Sawako insisted, resting her hands against Terry's firm stomach. She waited as patiently as she could for Terry to make her move. It took a good minute or so before she felt Terry's fingers experimentally press into her bottom. She threw her hair back over her shoulder and shut her eyes to savor electric feelings coursing through her body. At this particular stage, her muddled mind wasn't sure if they were nearing second base or even third base since Terry was technically touching her beneath her waist. Her back arched involuntarily when Terry's hand glided along the sensitive spot on the small of her back.

"S-Sorry…" Terry stammered, ripping her hands away as if she did something wrong. "I didn't mean to-"

Sawako gave her girlfriend a smoldering look and grabbed Terry's hands. "Move to the front," she suggested. She watched as Terry's eyes widened and her face turn into a deeper crimson color.

Swallowing hard, Terry shakily reached up with her hands, but instead of going for Sawako's chest as suggested she fumbled at the bra clasp at the back. If she was going to push through with this, she might as well see and feel everything… right? Her trembling fingers managed to get one hook off when her bedroom door slammed open.

"Terry-san! We were wondering if you could give us some directions to the nearest pharmacy! Mio just got her period!" Yui announced, bouncing into the room and abruptly stopping in her tracks. Her honey brown eyes widened as her mind registered what was transpiring on the bed.

Mio also took that moment to march inside and scold her friend's brashness. "Yui! You don't just announce to anyone that I have my period!" she cried out. "And you're not supposed to storm into other people's rooms-" Her hands shakily reached up to cover her gaping mouth. "S-S-S-Sorry!" she shouted, this time covering her eyes.

Yui slowly grinned despite the ominous glare Sawako was giving them. "Oops," she said. "Maybe I should have just peeked instead and learned a few things."

"Yui!" Mio grabbed her friend's arm and towed her out of the room. "W-We'll figure out how to get to the nearest pharmacy!" With that, she quickly shut the door and left Sawako and Terry alone once more.

Sawako sighed and felt disappointed. Just by the stiffness of Terry's body beneath her, she knew that Yui and Mio had ruined the mood. She would have to try again another time. Reaching behind her, she re-hooked the clasp of her bra. The brunette looked down into Terry's face and gently tried to smooth away the lines that had formed on her lover's forehead. "You did really well for a start," she softly told her. "Next time, we'll move on to the more complex lessons."

Terry gulped and opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn't because Sawako picked that moment to kiss her. Slowly, she lifted her arms, wrapped them around Sawako and pulled her closer. Things didn't turn out that badly for first try or should she say second try. She could still remember her heart slamming against her chest. It wasn't the painful kind. It felt more like… yearning. Terry felt Sawako sigh into their kiss and readily came to a decision.

She was going to push her fear into the deepest recesses of her mind. Had she always been in denial since their relationship started to get more intimate? Acceptance was like a bitter pill difficult to swallow. After what had happened, everything was just laid out in front of her. It was so plain for her eyes to see…. she _wanted _Sawako.


End file.
